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NeW YORK; 

j- S-OGILVIE, Publisher 
57 Rose Street. 




DETECTIVE JOHNSON 

OF NEW ORLEANS. 

QjT LOVE^ and CRIME)- 


BY 


A- ’ 


HARRY IRVING HANCOCK 








f:..........;.,..;:V.:;,;3 










OF NEW ORLEANS, 


A TALE OF LOVE AND CRIME, 


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HARRY IRVING HANCOCK.’ 




THE PEERLESS SERIES, No. 37. April, 1891. Subscription, $3.00 per annum. Entered at 
New York Post*Office as second-class matter. Copyright by J. S. Ogilvie. 


Copyright, 1891, by J. S. Ogilvie. 


New York; 

J. S. OGILVIE, PUBLISHER, 

57 Rose Street. 


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CONTENTS. 


CHAPTEE 1. 

The Start of a Memorable Trip ... 5 

CHAPTER II. 

A Good Turn j.nd its Consequences . . 13 

CHAPTEE HI. 

Challenged. — Bliss and its Eude Awakening 25 

CHAPTEE IV. 

A Life For a Life — Whose Shall It Be? . 36 

CHAPTER V. 

A Dastardly Trick and a Pathetic Side Scene 46 

CHAPTEE VI. 

What Became of the Monet. — A Terrible 


Ordeal . . . . . . . . 57 

CHAPTEE VII. 

Frank Streator’s Account of the Duel . 68 

CHAPTER VIII. 

“ You ARE NOT My Sister, Lea ye Me!” . 79 

CHAPTER IX. 

A Haven Among Friends 91 

CHAPTER X. 

Elsie’s Arrival 100 

CHAPTER XL 


Two Conspirators Get Their Heads To- 


gether . 


109 


IV 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTEE XIL 

First Step of the Conspiracy . . . . 

CHAPTER XIIL 

Unavailing Search 

CHAPTER XIV. 

On the Scent 

CHAPTER XV. 

A Eat of Hope Through a Dreary Solitude 

CHAPTER XVI. 

PoMPEY Returns 

CHAPTER XVII. 

A Recognition and a Pursuit. 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

The Pursuers Foiled. — More Plotting 

CHAPTER XIX. 

Again in the Toils . . . . , 

CHAPTER XX. 

On Board the “ Girard ” ... 

CHAPTER XXL 

In Awful Peril . . . . . 

CHAPTER XXII. 

The Fate of the “ Girard ” . 

CHAPTER XXm. 

Aid From an Unexpected Source . 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

Reginald Finds Happiness . . . . 

CHAPTER XXV. 

A Pair of Matrimonial Surprises . 


Page. 

119 

128 

137 

147 

I 

156 

165 

175 

] 81 : 

193 

203 

212 

221 

230 

239 





DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW ORLEANS. 


CHAPTEE 1. 

/ 

THE START OF A MEMORABLE TRIP. 

Twenty minutes to four. At the hour the “ Mabel 
Girard would start down the river with her valuable 
cargo of merchandise and her more precious freight of 
human beings. 

The big boat shivered and shook like a ti’emulous thing 
of life. Dense, impenetrable clouds of smoke poured 
from three tall smoke-stacks which stood abreast a little 
aft of the well-house. There was a hissing sound of escap- 
ing steam. The deck-hands and some forty wharfnien ran 
hurriedly to and fro, loading bales, boxes, and barrels on 
to drays, wheeling the merchandise aboard the steamer, 
and there unloading it again; two of the steamer^s officers 
stood by and bawled themselves hoarse with issuing orders. 

The passengers who had not already embarked were go- 
ing aboard in a leisurely fashion, for there was yet more 
than a quarter of an hour of grace. The “ Girard was one 
of the most palatial river-boats of her time, and seldom 
missed a full complement of passengers from her highest 
starting-point up the Mississippi, St. Paul. 

One of the passengers in particular, who stood near the 
forward gang-plank, seemed in no haste to go aboard, and 


6 


DETECTIVE JOHNSO^T OF NEW OKLEANS. 


it is with this young man in question that our story has 
largely to deal. 

Eeginald Prentiss was a typical young Southern gentle" 
man of the ante-bellum period, tall, graceful, slender and 
well-formed, with a dark olive skin, jet-black hair, and 
expressive blue eyes, but without the faintest suspicion of 
beard or mustache. 

He could not have been over eight-and-twenty and he 
dressed fastidiously in the neatest fashion of the period. 
As he walked about on the dock, one could see at a glance 
the easy and unrestrained carriage which everywhere be- 
tokens the gentleman to the manor born. 

Eeginald^s home was on the shores of one of the numer- 
ous bayous to be found on the gulf coast near the Missis- 
sippi's delta. With his mother he was part owner of one 
of the largest Louisiana sugar plantations, which required 
the services of fully eight hundred slaves to keep it in run- 
ning order. Prentiss, 'pire, had died a dozen years ago, 
and left to his widow and son this magnificent estate, in^ 
itself a handsome and unfailing fortune. 

The Christmas holidays were approaching, and this 
glorious season was to be as fully observed as usual in the 
Prentiss family; but yule-tide once past, Eeginald was re- 
solved to give the stately old mansion over into the hands 
of carpenters. It was to secure the larger portion of the 
lumber and building materials needed in the construction 
that the young Louisianian had come to St. Paul at a sea- 
son of the year so unpropitious to warm-blooded South- 
erners. 

Ugh!^^ he muttered, turning his coat-collar up 


DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW ORLEANS. 


7 


around his neck, as a gust of wind swept down the wharf 
from the city, and seemed to seek him out among the piles 
of merchandise. “ Thank Heaven, twenty-four hours will 
see me in warmer latitudes, and then the time will pass 
more pleasantly until I am in that good old home once 
more. But where can Elsie be?’^ 

Elsie was a favorite cousin of his, studying at a semi- 
nary near St. Paul, who always spent the holidays at the 
Prentiss homestead in Louisiana. She had agreed to meet 
him at the boat, but so far Eeginald had not seen any- 
thing of the young lady. 

At last! Yes, she was coming. The sun was near the 
horizon, and already the day had begun to darken, but de- 
spite the semi-gloom he thought there could be no mis- 
take. The petite figure and brisk, jaunty walk could be- 
long to none other than Elsie Prentiss. 

“ I have been waiting for you ever so long,^^ he said, 
stepping forward and raising his hat, and this biting 
northern wind is really — 

He went no further. The young lady looked sharply at 
him, but without more than a momentary pause in her 
gait she tripped lightly over the gang-plank. Eeginald 
saw that he had made a mistake; the young lady certainly 
was not Elsie. 

Who, then, was she? 

‘ As the young lady turned for a moment to glance at the 
Southerner, he saw a face infinitely more beautiful than 
that of his pretty cousin Elsie, and of a radically different 
style of loveliness. Whereas Miss Prentiss had the typi- 
cal Southern complexion and graces, the unknovji beauty 


8 


DETECTIVE JOHNSOIST OF NEW ORLEANS. 


whom he had so accosted was a pronounced blonde, with 
the prettiest of golden hair and the delicate pink-and- 
white face of her type. 

“ That^s not Elsie, I’ll be bound,” muttered Prentiss; 
“ but she is as much more beautiful as day is lighter than 
night. I wonder who she is? May the fates will it that 
she and I are fellow-passengers the whole length of the 
river, ” 

He stood at the shore end of the main gangway-plank 
and gazed in upon the main-deck, in the hope that she 
would emerge from the ladies’ cabin. See her again he 
must and would, even if only once and at a distance. 
The prosaic occupation of watching his lumber loaded on 
to the “ Girard’s ” forward deck had lost its interest; he 
had ears and eyes only for this peerless woman, the sight 
of whom had driven all else out of his mind. 

“ Eeally, am I to be treated in this way by my nearest 
aud dearest relative?” came in petulant tones from behind 
him. 

“ Oh, it’s you, Elsie!” said Eeginald, absent-mindedly, 
as he t limed and recognized his interlocutor. 

“ Yes, it’s I, Elsie,” the girl answered, with amusing 
indignation, “ and I had to speak to you three times be- 
fore you would look at me. I declare, Eeggy, you’re look- 
ing in there again, and you don’t understand a word I am 
saying to you. ” 

“ Yes, 1 do,” answered the young man, half turning to 
his pretty cousin, ‘‘ but — ” 

“ There! 1 thought I’d secured your attention at last, 
but you are gazing into the inmost depths of that horrid 


DETECTIVE JOHNSON OE NEW ORLEANS. 


9 


old steamer again. Eeggy, you really act as if you were 
looking into Paradise. 

“ Pve had a glimpse of it,^’ Prentiss answered^ eagerly; 
“ and^ oh, cousin, I want you to use your wonian^s wit in 
helping me. How opportune that you are here — and what 
a beauty she is!^^ 

Elsie pouted. 

‘‘ So that’s the secret of your incivility to me?” she de- 
manded, sarcastically. “ Why is it, 1 wonder, that direct- 
ly a man falls in love he so completely ignores the rest of 
that happy creature’s sex?^’ 

“ You seem jealous, Elsie,” said her cousin, amusedly, 
partly turning toward her, but not for a moment relin- 
quishing his watch on the steamer’s cabin. 

“And why shouldn’t 1 be?” she demanded. “How- 
do you know, Peggy, that I’ve not picked you out for my- 
self? Cousins can marry, you know.” 

“ But you would not be so absurd, dear cousin.” 

“ And yet you doubtless exjiect that some woman will 
love you madly. Oh, you men are so consistent!” 

“ But we’ve known each other ever since we were mere 
babies,” Prentiss observed, good-humoredly. 

“And that’s a good and sufficient reason why you. 
shouldn’t want to marry me? Thank you, Peggy. I am. 
going aboard now. Why do you stand shivering in the^ 
cold yourself? Old Boreas has positively turned your nose, 
blue.” 

“ Peally, I — 1 don’t know why 1 am standing here,” 
returned the young man, confusedly, offering his arm to 
his cousin. The absurdity of his standing at the gang- 


10 


DETECTIVE JOHNSOIST OF NEW OKLEANS. 


plank, when his chances of seeing the unknown beauty 
would have been much better if he had gone aboard, 
struck Prentiss with the force of a sudden conviction. 

“ Who is your divinity, Eeggy?^^ Elsie complacently 
demanded, when he had seen her comfortably seated in 
the upper saloon. 

“My — er — what?’^ he queried, sharply, not altogether 
liking her question. 

“ Your divinity, she repeated; “ the young female 
person who has so completely insnared you as to make 
you impervious to the ties of relationship. Of course, 
sarcastically, “ you won^t try to make me believe it was 
merely a beautiful horse. Horses don^t go aboard at this 
end of the boat.'’ ^ 

“ A horse !’^ Reginald repeated, scornfully, glaring un- 
der lifted eyebrows at his pretty cousin. “ No, no, Elsie, 
the most beautiful woman in the South. 

“But this is the North, dear; you forget that you are in 
St. Paul/^ 

“ No woman as beautiful as she is could come from any 
section but the South — or the Orient, Reginald declared, 
with the positiveness of conviction. 

“ She is dark, then, like yourself— and me?^^ demurely. 

“ No, cousin; as bright and beautiful and fair as one of 
our summer days; the perfection of loveliness in woman, a 
vision worthy of a Byron ^s dream, a — 

“ Please, Mr. Reginald Prentiss, where is my place in 
the presence of this peerless houri.^^^ Elsie interrupted, 
with a teasing assumption of petulance. 

“ Cousin, the young man responded, loftily, “ you are 


DETECTIVE JOHITSOlSr OF KEW ORLEANS. 


11 


getting unbearably sarcastic — or jealous — 1 don^t know 
which. I am going now to look after your baggage. 
How much is there?’’ 

Four trunks.” 

Is that all?” 

“ Isn’t that enough?” 

“ For a two weeks’ sojourn? I should say emphatically 
that it was. I coukl carry enough for two men in one 
trunk.” 

“ Men are so different/’ she answered. 

“ Yes, cousin; not so vain of personal appearance. Au 
revoirA^ 

Prentiss made his way to the main-deck below, intend- 
ing to go ashore. As he reached the after gangway, he 
saw there was at least a fathom of space between the boat 
and the wharf. The gang-plank had already been pulled 
ashore, and, as he paused a second, he heard the clang of 
the pilot’s bell in the engine-room. There was a rumbling 
motion that made the boat quiver slightly; the sound of 
escaping steam ceased suddenly, and the dock appeared 
slowly to recede. He had been too late to go ashore, and 
there was only a chance that the baggage in his charge was 
aboard. 

“ The forward part is too crammed with freight to find 
anything there,” he soliloquized. “ I think I’d best have 
a smoke before going back to Elsie to confess that I don’t 
know whether her trunks are aboard or not.” 

He lighted a weed and stepped outside on the outer 
main-deck, though the wind was sweeping down the river 
with a frigidity that threa^tened to chill him to the mar- 


12 


DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW ORLEANS. 


rov\^. Before the cigar was half finished, he threw it away 
and gave up the effort to smoke in disgust. He deter- 
niim d to go back to Elsie and invoke her aid in getting 
acquainted with the beautiful unknown one. 

xVccordingly, Prentiss ascended the broad flight of stairs 
and made his way to the spot where he had left his cousin. 
He soon found her, but she was not alone. There was a 
second young lady present, and, though her back was 
turned to him, his heart began to beat violently as soon as 
he spied her. 

Elsie caught sight of him, and springing for\/ard, she 
cried : 

“ Oh, Peggy, dear, Fm glad you\e come at last, 1 want 
to introduce you to my dearest friend. 

The second young lady turned as Elsie spoke. The 
Southerner’s heart beat as if it would suffocate him. Elsie^s 
friend was, indeed, the unknown beauty who had captivated 
him. 

“ She’s coming to spend the holidays with us,” Miss 
Prentiss added. 

Reginald bowed awkwardly. 


13 


DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW ORLEANS. 


CHAPTER IL 

A GOOD TURN AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 

^‘Oh! pardon me, Eeggy/^ Miss Prentiss added sud- 
denly, with the dashing affability of a school-girl, “ Pve 
been thoughtless enough to overlook the necessity of an in- 
troduction. Dianne, my dear, permit me to present my 
cousin, Mr. Reginald Prentiss. Reggy, my best and 
truest school friend. Miss Lorraine. 

Reginald bowed less constrainedly now, and Miss Lorraine 
offered him the tips of a little gloved hand, a special favor 
of courtesy granted in recognition of his relationship with 
her school chum. The young man treated both ladies with 
the courteous deference and attention which marks the 
Southern gentleman when seen at his best. 

There was a flush of happy satisfaction on his face which 
Elsie noticed, and she readily comprehended the situation. 

“ Oh, 1 do believe, Dianne, dear,^^ she began impulsive- 
ly, “ that you are the young lady Reggy was talking to me 
about. He — 

There was a look of mischievous malice in her eves as she 

t/ 

said this, but she got no further, for Prentiss shot a keen 
covert glance of warning at his audacious cousin and turned 
off his threatened expose of his feelings by interjecting 
hastily: 

“Yes, indeed, Miss Lorraine, 1 have been deeply an- 
noyed and embarrassed by a painful mistake which 1 made 


14 


DETECTIVE JOnKSOJ^" OE KEW OBLEANS. 


a little while ago. I believe you are the lady whom 1 in- 
tercepted and spoke to on the wharf. 

“ I believe you did, sir/^ returned Miss Lorraine, sur- 
veying him archly. 

“ It was wholly unintentional, I assure you/^ 

Indeed, curiously. 

“ I mean. Miss Lorraine,^^ said Prentiss, correcting him- 
self, with some accession of color to his face, “ that it was 
altogether a mistake. 1 thought when I first beheld you 
that you were Elsie. 

“ There is some resemblance, to be sure,’^ said Dianne, 
leniently; and so the matter was dropped. A word given 
quietly aside to Miss Prentiss made her cousin feel confident 
that she would not again attempt to betray his infatuation 
in his presence, but the young man was by no means sure 
that she would refrain from it in his absence. 

Eeginald Prentiss, after nearly thirty years of bachelor- 
hood, serene and undisturbed by any intense longing for 
feminine participation of his many joys and few sorrows, 
had at last become deeply infatuated with a mere school- 
girl in years. Dianne could not have been more than 
eighteen, he felt, as he gazed upon her young, fresh, rosy 
face and girlish form; but, despite what seemed to him a 
great disparity in their ages, he was prepared to throw him- 
self at her feet with his three decades of life, and with it, 
whatever the future held in store for him— whatever it 
might bring him besides the radiant creature who had 
crossed his path hardly an hour before. 

It was love at first sight on his part, and a deej), lasting 
love too. Wiseacres may sneer at the existence of such in- 


DETECTIVE JOHKSOK OF KEW ORLEANS. 


15 


stantaneous passion; indeed, the}" always have sneered, and 
always will; but in this the wiseacres have always been 
wrong, and always will be. With such impulsive natures 
as that which possessed Reginald Prentiss, love, when it 
does come, must date from the first contact with the loved 
one, though it grows more intense as it progresses. When 
he first encountered her at the boat landing he had felt a 
thrill responsive to her being. The first words she uttered 
to him in the upper saloon of the steamboat had forged and 
bound his fetters, and he felt himself her slave. 

And Dianne? Was she aware of his suddenly conceived 
devotions? Did she respond, ever so little, to his love? 

Had young Prentiss been as familiar with the ways of 
women as he was with most of the ways of the world, he 
might have sufficiently discovered her nature to have per- 
ceived that she could love with the same intensity that 
stirred the depths of his own nature now for the first 
time. 

Did she care for him? Did she even like him? These 
questions unceasingly presented themselves to his mind. 

’ He was uneasy in Dianne^s presence. The two girls 
chatted unrestrainedly, addressing themselves to him with 
no greater frequency than a recognition of his presence de- 
manded. He was grateful to Elsie for thus leaving hiui to 
himself for the time being, for it gave him opportunity to 
covertly study his divinity. More than that, it occurred to 
him to observe whether his silence and assumed moodiness 
appeared to pique her. 

Apparently, Miss Lorraine did notice his silence, for, 
after the lapse of a few minutes, during which the young 


16 


DETECTiYE JOHNSON OF KEW ORLEANS. 

ladies kept a running fire of questions, ansvvers and sallies, 
the divinity turned to him with: 

‘‘ You must find us stupid company, Mr. Prentiss. You 
haven’t said a word for a quarter of an hour. Are you 
usually so taciturn?” 

“ I have never attended a seminary, you know,” he an- 
swered evasively, not knowing what to say, and instinctively 
disliking to talk about himself. 

But Dianne put on an air of great dignity. 

“ Then, Mr. Prentiss,” she said, teasingly, ‘‘ you assume 
that all seminary girls are necessarily voluble. ” 

“ I didn’t say that,” Reginald protested. 

“ But you meant it, did you not?” 

“ By no means; I merely intended to—” 

Intended to say that you are moody and unsociable, as 
you always are,” put in Elsie, who could not from the 
nature of things keep .quiet more than a few moments at a 
time. 

“ You know better than that, cousin,” he answered, re- 
proachfully; “ I am not always unsociable; never inten- 
tionally so with ladies.” 

Elsie’s only answer was a defiant shake of her head, as if 
she were routed, but not convinced. 

But after that things went more smoothly. In some 
W’ay or other, Reginald soon found himself the central figure 
in the conversation that followed. ♦ The time passed so 
quickly that none of the trio could believe their ears when, 
at seven o’clock, the clanging of a gong in the hands of an 
ebony-hued darky proclaimed the fact that dinner was 
served in the main saloon under the deck. Reginald es- 


/ 


DETECTIVE JOHKSOK OF NEW ORLEANS. 


17 


corted the ladies to the table, giving his divinity the seat of 

honor on his right. Awake to the great responsibility of 

his temporary position as Dianne^s provider and protector, 

he did all he could to ingratiate himself in the little beauty’s 

% 

favor. Apparently with considerable success, too, for she 
attended all his remarks and attempts at appropriate con- 
versation with a closeness that flattered him. 

Prentiss was exultant at the ease with which he found 
himself becoming Dianne’s friend. He fancied that it was 
all very plain sailing, and promised himself a trip to New 
Orleans that should be one long dream of ideal courtship, 
hasty though its inception had been. In his calculations, 
the young man entirely ignored his cousin; but Elsie soon 
made herself felt, and with crushing effect. As the trio 
were leaving the table to go above, that "^oung lady whis- 
pered in his ear: 

“ Keggy, dear, if you want to go about this in the right 
way, don’t spoil your chances at the outset. Leave us, 
and don’t come back until you’ve had time to smoke a 
cigar or two. If she sees too much of you in the first 
evening it may prejudice your chances in the end.” 

The young man hesitated. The proposition was not 
pleasing to his vanity. 

“ Then you understand — ” he began. 

“ That she is the divinity you were raving about,” Elsie 
finished, with a significant look, and in tones that did not 
go above a whisper. “ Yes, dear, and may you succeed; 
she’s a noble girl.” 

“ God bless you, Elsie,” murmured Prentiss, squeezing 
his cousin’s little hand with a grateful pressure. And, ex" 


18 


DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW ORLEANS. 


casing himself to Dianne, who had not, of course, heard a 
word of the whispered conversation, and who did not appear 
to notice it, he left the ladies where he had first found them 
together, in the upper saloon. 

There was a good-sized cabin forward on the lower deck, 
and in those days before the war, when gambling was freely 
tolerated on the Mississippi Eiver boats the forward apart- 
ment was always well filled with knights of the green cloth, 
who did a thriving business with greenhorns. The bar, 
too, was open at all hours, and scenes of debauchery that 
would hardly be credited in this age were then enacted day 
and night. 

Eeginald Prentiss, like most of the Southern planters of 
that time, was a frequent traveler on the river boats, and 
to him this was all an old story. He was not surprised 
when he entered the forward saloon to find that at every 
one of the half score of tables a game was in full blast. 

Poker appeared to be the predominant game, but in his 
slow promenade through the apartment Eeginald saw three 
or four faro “ layouts, for this latter game had slowly 
but surely gained a hold on the patrons of the Mississippi 
boats. 

The element of chance was even stronger in this latter 
game than in poker, and all the extravagant combinations 
which were possible at the time lent more zest to some 
minds than the stereotyped game of “ draw.^^ 

The stakes were high on every table, and whisky — good, 
bad, indijfferent, and worse than indifferent — was being im- 
bibed freely by two thirds of the players and spectators. 
A few of the more opulent — or. more lucky, which amount- 


DETECTIVE JOHKSOH OF NEW ORLEANS. 


19 


ed to very much the same thing — were emptying bottles of 
champagne with a recklessness that bespoke big losses — 
and colossal heads the next morning. 

“ I kin fix yo% sah^ berry soon, if yo^ like to play/^ a 
grinning colored attendant whispered in Eeginald^s ear. 

But the young man had no desire to play, and the darky 
lost the expected tip. 

Prentisses eye had wandered to a group that sat at one 
of the furthermost tables. 

There were four men in the party. Two, in appearance, 
were typical slave-drivers, men who bought and sold negroes 
on speculation. A third was a strikingly handsome young 
man, with a clear olive skin and the darkest of hair and 
eyes. His features were finely chiseled and his pose and 
bearing were of an ultra-dignified order. His clothes were 
of the finest texture and make, and altogether this young 
man had every appearance of being a gentleman born. ^ 

Only one thing marred the prepossessing appearance of 
this young stranger at the table. His watch chain and the 
rings which glittered on several fingers were very massive, 
altogether too loud. 

A taste for such ponderous jewelry, and under such cir- 
cumstances, clearly bespoke the confirmed gambler to the 
observant man of the world. That this was true in this 
instance there could be no doubt, for he handled the cards 

with the utmost sang froid and pocketed the stakes when 
he won with an air of placid unconcern. 

And that he did win much more frequently than anyone 
else at the table was plain to the most listless observer. 


20 


DETECTIVE JOHKSOET OF KEW ORLEAl^S. 


But it was neither of the three we have mentioned who 
interested Eeginald Prentiss particularly. 

The fourth man in the game would have attracted the 
attention of an experienced on-looker much more readily 
than either of the other players. He was a youngs, bojdsh- 
looking fellow with sunny hair, clear blue eyes, and a face 
so open and frank that any one would have trusted in him 
on first sight. Shown in plain relief against his three com- 
panions this youth seemed like a rose among thorns. 

“ More like the man who fell among thieves,’^ muttered 
Prentiss as the former simile came into his mind. 

There was something strikingly familiar in the face of 
this handsome boy, who could not have been more than 
twenty years of age. The likeness to some one he had seen 
before haunted Eeginald. It was some time before Iris re* 

creant memory could locate the object of his fixed attention. 

> 

“ It must be — yes, it is Frank Streatoi',^^ Eeginald fin- 
ally decided, and became more interested than ever in the 
game. 

It was evident that Streator was losing badly, and Pren- 
tiss became suspicious that the other three were leagued 

against him. 

The Streators had a plantation in Louisiana, not far for 
the Prentiss lands. Though Eeginald had not seen Frank 
for several years, they had once been intimate friends, after 
the fashion of large boy and small boy. 

Eeginald moved around slowly, in order not to^attract 
attention to his movements, and finally gained a position 
w^hence he could overlook the cards held by the dark young 
stranger. 


DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW OKLEANS. 


21 


But the other was a careful player, who knew better than 
to take too many risks at cheating in the days of ready pis- 
tols and bowie-knives. At last, however, Eeginald saw the 
opportunity for which he was watching. It came about in 
this manner: 

The young gambler, he of the fastidious dress and mass- 
ive jewelry, on the first draw of the new hand, secured a 
pair of aces, a pair of fours and a six spot. Discarding all 
but the aces, he drew again. A third ace and two useless 
cards were the result. He now held three aces. 

Streator, indiscreet and much excited, ‘‘ raised several 
times, until over $1,000 were on the table. 

He must hold good cards, thought Eeginald; now 
let us see if he will win. 

But he who held the three aces seemed not a particle dis- 
concerted. Carelessly he paid in his wagers, and seemed 
to have no anxiety as to the result. Finally he called the 
boy. 

Four kings cried Streator, fiushed and exultant. 

‘‘ That goes ahead of me,^^ said one of the drivers calm- 
ly, throwing his cards down upon the table. 

“ And ahead of me, too,^^ drawled the second driver in 
the same indifferent manner, not taking the trouble to show 
his hand. 

“ Good!^^ muttered Eeginald under his breath. 

But, with his eyes fastened attentively upon the move- 
ments of the black-haired gambler, he was prepared for 
what followed. 

The latter, with a movement so quick as to almost escape 
detection, dropped one of his useless cards, picked up a 


22 


DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW OKLEANS. 


fourth ace from the seat of the chair in which he sat, and 
threw down the quartet of single spots. 

“ Lost!^^ groaned Streator. ‘‘ A little more of this will 
ruin me. 

But the apparent winner did not seem to hear him, and 
nonchalantly stretched forth his hand to gather in the pile 
of bank-notes and gold. 

Hold! On your life don’t touch that money!” 

The gambler’s self-possession deserted him; but for a 
moment only. He turned apprehensively toward the 
speaker, and seemed to cower, but immediately regained 
his composure. 

That moment, however, had sufficed for Eeginald Pren- 
tiss to reach the table at a single bound, and seize the 
stakes from beneath the hands of the man who had so 
fraudulently won them. 

“ You have dared to interfere, sir,” said the gambler, 
haughtily, as soon as he had recovered from his momentary 
fear. 

“ I have,” thundered Reginald, “ for you have dared to 
cheat a friend of mine.” 

“ I have dared to cheat?” reiterated the gambler with a, 
fine simulation of scornful contempt. 

“ Yes,” responded Prentiss, and you are an arrant 
knave. You are sitting on some extra cards this minute. 

I saw you pick that fourth ace out from under your leg.” 

Fully two score of men had crowded around the table by 
this time, and excitement was running high. 

“ Pull him out of the chair!” shouted one man. 

“ Shoot him!” suggested another. 


DETECTIVE JOHNSOJST OF NEW ORLEANS. 


23 


“ Lynch him!^^ prompted a third. 

But the exposed swindler paid no attention to these 
threats. 

Slowly and coolly drawing a revolver from his pocket he 
leveled it at Eeginald^s head. 

Put that money down. One!^^ he commanded in low 
tones, but there was not a tremor in his voice. 

Eeginald quietly pocketed the money and folded his 
arms across his breast. In his calm, defiant look there was 
no tinge of fear. 

“ Put that money down. Two!^^ 

Every one present felt that a tragedy was about to be 
enacted, yet no one offered to interfere. There was a 
breathless silence, and all seemed spell-bound. 

“ Put it down. Th — 

But that three was never counted. 

« 

An empty champagne bottle flew through the air, and 
was shivered into fragments by violent contact with the 
would-be murderer ^s head. It was hurled with unerring 
aim, and did its work well. 

The gambler sunk to the floor, with an involuntary 
groan, blood pouring from two or three ugly cuts in his 
scalp. The revolver fell from his hand and discharged 
itself harmlessly, the bullet imbedding itself in a leg of 
the table. 

The owner of the weapon, nothing daunted, though 
considerably hurt, was on his feet like a flash. Drawing a 
bowie-knife from its sheath at his waist, he rushed upon 
Eeginald. 


% 


24 DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW ORLEANS. 

But a detaining hand seized him by the coat collar, and 
a second time his attempt at murder was foiled. 

“ If you don^t stop these antics, into the river you go, 
and double quick, said the gambler ^s captor threaten- 
ingly. 

The last speaker was a tall, broad-shouldered man, with 
a frame that bespoke extraordinary strength. His uniform 
proclaimed him to be the captain of the boat. 

A mate and several deck-hands came running up at this 
juncture. The captive was disarmed, and, with an ugly 
shake and a parting admonition to behave himself, was re- 
leased from the iron grip that had held him powerless. 


DETECTIVE JOHKSOIT OE NEW ORLEANS. 


2o 


CHAPTEK III. 

CHALLENGED. — BLISS AND ITS RUDE AWAKENING. 

Eeginald had stood impassively through it all, leaning 
against the wall of the cabin with his arms folded. 

Eo sooner had the baffled gambler been released by the 
captain and slunk away to the other side of the cabin to 
join his two friends, the seeming slave-drivers, than Frank 
Streator hastened to the side of the friend who had come 
to his rescue at so much personal risk. 

“ Keggy, old fellow, youh^e a trump he exclaimed, as 
he grasped the young planter’s hand. But I am sorry,’’ 
he added, “ that it was necessary to involve yourself in a 
scrape of this kind.” 

“ On the contrary,” Eeginald replied, “lam very glad 
to have been on hand to save you from these sharpers. ” 

“ But he may challenge you, Eeggy.” 

“ And suppose he does?” 

“ Then you must fight him.” 

“ Not necessarily.” 

“But the code?” 

“The code,” Eeginald interrupted, “only bears upon 
gentlemen.” 

“But you are a gentleman,” answered the youth sadly, 
“ and 1 do not see how you can escape fighting if he chal- 
lenges you.” 

“ But he is not a gentleman,” the young planter an- 


26 


DETECTIVE JOHI^SON OF ]STEW ORLEANS. 


swered, promptly, “ or he would not have cheated you at 
cards. If he challenges me, I shall demand, the best proof 
of his social position before accepting. 

“ Ob!^^ said Streator, dubiously, audit was plain that he 
was not satisfied. 

“ Eeggy,^^ he began, slowly, as if anxious to put his prop- 
osition in the most favorable light, “if this fellow does 
want to fight, you can of course meet him by proxy. 

“ How and why?^^ 

“ I got you into this scrape through my own idiocy, 
Streator rejoined, earnestly, “ and therefore it is no more 
than right that upon me should fall the consequences. 

“ Enough of this,^’ said Prentiss, impatiently, “ if I am 
to fight, I will do it myself. You are but a boy, Frank, 
and I doubt if you understand the use of any one weapon. 
I am fairly skillful with them all, and can undoubtedly 
take care of myself. 

“ But think of your mother, my dear fellow; how she 
would grieve.”^ 

“ She might grieve if 1 fell in a duel,^^ Eeginald made 
answer, “ but if 1 ran away from one, she would feel that 
my father^s name had been dishonored. 

“ But, Eeggy,^^ persisted the youth, “ it is not running 
away; it is not cowardice to fight by proxy. I have 
brought this upon you, if it comes; and 1 should be a pol- 
troon indeed, if 1 permitted you to face the music I have 
played. 

Eeginald smiled slightly at the other^s metaphor, but an- 
swered readily: 

“ Frank, 1 shall insist upon standing up for myself, if 1 


/' 

DETECTIVE JOHKSOII OF NEW OELEANS. 27 

am challenged^ and if I accept; so say no more. It will 
avail nothing. If I should, by the merest chance, happen 
to fall, see my mother for me — you know what to say to 
her---and remember that I have always been your true 
friend.’*^ 

“ I have abundant proof of that,^^ said Streator. His 
utterance was choked, and he did not check the tears that 
came to his eyes. ^ 

The young gambler with the profusion of heavy jew- 
elry meanwhile had been engaged in an animated 

though low-toned conversation on the further side of the sa- 

« 

loon with the two slave-drivers for companions. One of the 
latter came over to where Prentiss stood, and said: 

“ I presume, sir, that this young gent as was playing 
with us will represent you in a little affair we have on 
hand.^^ 

Eeginald bowed stiffly. The driver was a big, coarse- 
looking fellow, shaggy and unkempt, and dirty withal, 
though he affected a resplendant elegance of dress that ill 
became him. 

“ Young gent,^’ said the driver, turning to the boy, “ if 
you’ll come to my state-room, or into the bar, we can talk 
over this little matter.” 

“Won’t that corner over there do as well? We shall 
not be disturbed there,” said Streator, who heartily dis- 
liked the idea of any tendency to sociability with this 
coarse-grained ruffian. 

“Jest as well, I reck’n,” said the man sulkily, as if di- 
s vining what was in the boy’s mind. 

“ Eemember, Frank,” whispered Prentiss, “just what 


2S 


DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF KEW ORLEANS. 


my position is in this matter; and, above all, donH give 
either of our names until we are convinced that mv dial- 
lenger is a gentleman. 

“And what weapons had I betten^name?^^ asked Strea- 
tor, also in a whisper. 

“ Eapiers; they are the fairest weapons to fight with, 
and we can easily procure a pair in New Orleans.''^ 

“ But suppose your man isn^t going that far?^^ 

“ He must if he wants to fight me. As the challenged 
party, I have the right to name the time, place and 
weapons. 

The slave-driver had already taken a seat in the corner 
indicated, and there Frank Streator joined him. The de- 
tails were quickly arranged. The big fellow objected to ra- 
piers, but consented when told that no other terms would 
be accepted. 

“ My principal desires to withhold his name for the pres- 
ent, said Streator, haughtily, “ and will not fight in any 
event unless convinced that your man is a gentleman.^^ 

“ My man makes the same conditions,^^ said the driver, 
with an offensive leer. 

“ Then that ends the matter for the presen t,^^ Streator 
rejoined, disdainfully. “ See me in this cabin, one hour 
before we reach New Orleans, and remember you must 
satisfy us that your principal is a gentleman.'’^ 

“ I reck’n I can do that,^^ the driver answered, grimljL 

Frank joined his friend, and together they started for 
the uj)per saloon. On the stairs Prentiss unintentionally 
jostled the man who had challenged him. 


DETECTIVE JOHNSOlsr OF NEW ORLEANS. 


29 


“We shall soon meet on equal ground, 1 understand. 
Look out for yourself th^n/’ hissed the latter. 

“ When I am satisfied that you are a gentleman/^ said 
Eeginald, coldly, looking the other full in the eye, “ I 
will meet you. It shall be to the death, if you wish.’’ 

“Ay, to the death it shall be!” rejoined the gambler, 
savagely. 

“ My cousin and a school -girl friend are on board,” said 
Reginald to Frank Streator, as they walked along toward 
the main saloon. “We will spend the rest of the evening 
with them; but mind, not a word about our escapade.” 

“ By no means,” replied Frank, warmly. 

Dianne seemed more than pleased at the return of her 
new-found admirer, and when Elsie had an opportunity she 
whispered in her cousin’s ear: 

“You have done splendidly, Reggy, my dear. She has 
looked toward the stairs at least twenty times in the last 
hour. Follow my instructions and she’ll be yours soon 
enough.” 

“ Then you have given up the idea of claiming me for 
yourself?” he asked, roguishly. But he felt exhilarated 
and happy, and devoted himself to Dianne Lorraine with 
a courtesy and a sincerity that could not fail to make an 
impression upon her. 

There was an orchestra in the cabin, but the sounds of 
the music only served to give greater privacy to the con- 
versation in which the two couples indulged. At eleven the 
ladies retired, and an hour later Reginald and Streator 
turned in for the night. 

The days and evenings that followed were one long 


30 


DETECTIVE JOHNSOK OF KEW ORLEANS. 


dream of bliss to Eegiuald Prentiss. He had eyes and ears 
for none but Dianne. Even what had taken place during 
the first night on the ‘‘ Girard seemed almost obliterated 
from his memory. His thoughts seldom reverted to the 
duel which must be fought upon his arrival in New Or- 
leans. Eeginald^s nature was one of those which rested 
completely in the Bible maxim, ‘‘ Sufficient unto the day 
is the evil thereof. 

t 

Even when he momentarily refiected on the probable 
deadly conflict that lay before him it caused him little un- 
easiness, and no pain. If he came from the meeting alive, 
then the road would be as clear as ever for his marriage 
with Dianne Lorraine, if he could win her. She was a 
Southern woman by birth, tradition and instincts, and a 
death brought about by her lover in a fairly fought duel 
would cast no stigma upon him in her eyes. 

On the other hand, should he fall, and it was more than 
possible that he would, then the loss of this beautiful 
woman under those circumstances could not grieve 
' him. So for all these reasons, the approaching “ affair of 
honor cast no gloom over his spirits, and his dream of 
bliss was, for the time being, undisturbed. 

On the night before the morning when the “ Mabel 
Girard would steam into New Orleans, Frank Streator 
came to him with an anxious face, and^ said: 

‘‘ Iffii afraid that other fellow has procured a pair of 
foils somewhere and is coaching up with his second. As 
1 came by one of the forward state-rooms down below, I 
heard a clashing from within that made me suspicious. 
You had better practice with me, if only with Canes. 


DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF KEW ORLEAKS. 


31 


But Reginald smiled good-naturedly, and answered care- 
lessly : 

“ Don^t let your fears get the better of you, Frank. I 
have fenced in Paris under the best instructors, and there 
is where you see good work done with the rapiers. To my 
mind the fact that our man is practicing is a confession of 
his lack of skill and confidence. 

And so the matter was dismissed for the time being. 

Reginald Prentiss, fascinated from the first by the beau- 
tiful Dianne Lorraine, was now completely in her gentle 
power. It is a curious paradox that the proudest natures 
are the most humble in love. He worshiped this brilliant 
girl, and his devotion extended to the minutest of her at- * 
tributes. A handkerchief which she had inadvertently 
dropped during a conversation with him on their second 
evening on board the “ Girard he had picked up covertly 
and treasured ever since. Its perfume reminded him of 
Dianne, and in the retirement of his state-room he kissed 
this simple bit of muslin with a passion he would not have 
dared to betray to her. 

‘‘ If it were not for the possibility of a duel,^^ Prentiss 
mused after Streator had left him, “ I would make the 
effort this evening to make Dianne my own beyond the 
question of a doubt. If it were not for this nasty busi- 
ness, I might perhaps take her to my home as my affianced 
wife.^^ 

But Reginald knew there was a chance that he might 
not come away from a meeting with the gambler whose 
name, even, was unknown to him at present. 

“ If the fellow is a gentleman, from a social standpoint, 


32 DETECTIVE JOHNSOK OF NEW ORLEANS. 

X 

I must fight him; although^ if he be^ as 1 trust, a pro- 
fessional blackleg, then I can not and will not. Three 
days at the most, if 1 am alive, and I can know the best or 
the worst from my darling. 

It was the suspense, not lack of confidence in himself 
on the field, or in Miss Lorraine^s affections, that made 
Reginald fretful on the last night of that memorable jour- 
ney down the Mississippi. He joined Dianne and Elsie, 
who, with Frank Streator, were ensconced in their favor- 
ite corner in the main salon. 

But try as he would he could not shake off the feelings 
that overpowered him. It was not a dread of the outcome 
of the morrow that disturbed him, but a consciousness of 
the fact that at the time when he most wanted to lead Di- 
anne aside and whisper his love in her ear, and he could not 
in honor do so. Indeed, he was superstitious enough to feel 
that, if he did, it might invoke a wrath from above or be- 
low that would effectually cut off all his hopes of winning 
the beautiful girl. 

It is no wonder that Prentiss was glad to retire that even- 
ing when the time came; but he was up betimes the next 
morning, after a not very restful night. The boat was 
already made fast and the passengers were going ashore. He 
found Elsie readily enough, and on looking down the boat 
he saw Dianne some distance away. 

She was talking in an animated way with the gambler 
who had challenged him. 

There appeared to be great cordiality between them, and 
no little display of affection on Miss Lorraine's part. 

Eeginald^'s quick eye took in every thing, his head seemed 


DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF HEW ORLEAKS. 


83 


to be turning with a sudden rush, and his heart beat so 
violent!}^ that it threatened to suffocate him. 

Had Dianne, then, already a lover? 

Were his hopes to be -blighted by a blackleg? 

Or was it possble that Dianne was a clever adventuress 
in league with the gambler? 

No! Perish that last thought! She was as good and 
pure-minded as she was beautiful. 

But Miss Lorraine was coming toward him. He would 
soon fathom the mystery that surrounded her connection 
with that flashy young gambler. 

“Oh, Elsie, dear,^’ she cried, impulsively; “ I\e had 
such a surprise! Gasparde has been on the boat almost the 
whole trip, and I never knew it until five minutes ago. 
Oh, Reginald — I — I — mean, Mr. Prentiss,^'’ she stammered, 
confusedly, and then added: “ I am sorry you could not 
have seen him. I wanted him to meet you, but he was in 
a hurry to get 'ashore, and promised to. call on us at the 
hotel this afternoon.^’ 

“And who is he — this Gasparde?’^ Reginald asked, calm- 
ly, but with a heavy sinking at the heart. 

“Only my brother, Dianne responded quickly, as if she 
comprehended what was passing in his mind, “ but a very 
good and kind brother. 

“ Your brother ?^^ the yoiing man asked, hoarsely, 
though he tried to control himself. 

And Dianne wondered what made him so suddenly silent 
and gloomy. 

But 2)oor Reginald. What a storm of conflicting emo- 
tions was raging within him. If he killed Gasparde Loiv 


34 


DETECTIVE JOHNSON^ OF KEW ORLEANS. 


raine what was there left to him of hope? Dianne could 
never be his, and she would loathe her brother's slayer. 

On the other hand he could not refuse to fight. 

When 1 am satisfied that you are a gentleman I will 
meet you. It shall be to the death if you wish.^^ 

These bad been his words to the gambler. He could 
not declare that Dianne^s brother was not a gentleman. 
Whichever way he turned for relief from this horrible 
predicament, Prentiss could see none. 

Streator came up at this juncture and said: 

‘‘ Ladies, you must excuse Mr. Prentiss and myself for 
an hour or two as we have business of importance on 
hand. We will see that you are provided with a carriage, 
and then rejoin you at the hotel later. 

This said, Streator picked up Elsie^s wraps and travel- 
ing-bag and started for the gang-plank. Eeginald per- 
formed a like duty for Dianne, and the young ladies were 
soon provided with a conveyance, and were on their way 
to the hotel. 

The young planter had but a vague realization of the 
things that had just transpired. He believed that he had 
seized Dianne^s hand and kissed it at parting, but whether 
he really had, he was not positive. 

“ Now, Eeggy,^^ said Streator, after the girls had de- 
parted in the conveyance, “ 1 have arranged to meet our 
men, the gambler and the driver, at a cofee-house on 
Sterling Street. There your challenger projooses to estab- 
lish his reputation to your satisfaction.^^ 

“ I am already satisfied that he is a gentleman, social- 


I 

DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW ORLEANS. 35 

ly/^ replied Prentiss, “ and I will fight him as soon as he 
pleases. 

Frank was astounded at his principaPs sudden change of 
base, but wisely said nothing. 

Eeginald had determined not to kill Manners brother 
under any circumstances. 

Eather than that, the field of honor should be his own 
grave. 

With this resolution firmly fixed, the young planter fol- 
lowed his friend and second down the street. 




36 


DETECTIVE JOHKSOII OF KEW ORLEANS. 


CHAPTER IV. 

A LIFE FOR A LIFE— WHOSE SHALL IT RE? 

“ I BELIE VE you are positively blue/^ said Frank Strea- 
tor, after the friends had gone a little way in silence. 

“ If I am, perhaps there is a reason for it/’ was Eegi- 

4 

nald^s answer. 

I should say so/^ ejaculated Streator. 

What do you mean by that?^^ 

“ Why, Reggy, do you think I am blind to your warm 
side toward that girl?^^ 

“ Comparisons are odious, was the response; “ so are 
such metaphors. 

A 

“ But, assuredly, old fellow, arenT you head over heels 
in love with. Miss Lorraine?^^ 

That is rather a direct question,^^ rejoined Prentiss; 
“ but suppose I am, why should I be so blue about it?^^ 

“ Perhaps you are afraid you won’t come out of this 
scrape alive,” suggested Streator, compassionately. 

“ On the contrary, my dear boy, I am not a particle un- 
easy about the possible outcome of the matter.” And 
Reginald tried to manifest a cheerfulness he did not by any 
means feel. 

Then,” persisted the youth, “ are you afraid she 
would look upon you with disfavor, simply because you 
fought a duel?” 

‘‘ Dianne is a Southern woman,” Prentiss answered. 


DETECTIVE JOHNSON' OF NEW OllLEANS. 


37 


“ and has all the instincts of her sectional traditions. If 1 
ran a^way from a meeting of honor, it would make her de- 
test me as nothing else could. If 1 am out of spirits, and 
I don^t deny that I am, it is not because I think she ab- 
hors duelling. 

“ He calls her Dianne already, mused the boy. “ Then 
he is thoroughly caught, and it is something in connection 
with that girl that makes him so dispirited at a time when 
he should have all his wits and courage about him. 

And Frank Streator was right, though he had no clearer 
idea of the real cause of his friends perturbation than be- 
fore. He was filled, nevertheless, with terrible misgivings, 
and pictured to himself a most horrible death for the 
young planter. The boy felt that he had been instrumen- 
' tal in making this deadly meeting necessary. He thought 
about it ruefully as the two walked on in silence for a few 
moments. 

“ Eeggy,^^ he broke in at last, unable to bear the torture 
of his thoughts any longer, “ I want you to reconsider 
your decision. Let me fight in your place, and if zeal 
counts, I will not disgrace your coaching in the encoun- 
ter/^ 

“ 1 thought I had already given you a final answer 
said Prentiss, in some surprise. 

“ Yes, but 1 beg you to reconsider, urged the boy. “ 1 
shall not feel reconciled with myself unless you do. ’^ 

f 

“ 1 can not let you fight in my pi ace, answered Eegi- 
nald; ‘‘ it would be deliberate murder. Why, you doiiT 
know the first princij)les of rapier practice. 

“ Very true, but I might prevail upon them to substi- 


38 


DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW ORLEANS. 


tute pistols/^ pleaded Streator. “ I certainly know how to 
handle fire-arms. 

Possibl^/^ assented Eeginald, impatiently, ‘‘but I 
doubt if yci. can shoot as well with pistols as our man, 
whom I am convinced is a gambler by profession, and a 
cool, desperate one at that. 

“ But I am cool,^^ protested Prank, with an impulsive- 
ness that readily belied his words. 

“ Then show a little of it now,^^ returned the planter, 
“ instead of wearying me before the fight with useless dis- 
sension.^^ 

Streator bit his lip in disgust at his inability to carry his 
point, and lapsed into silence as moody as that of his com- 
panion. 

In a few minutes they reached Sterling Street, and a 
short walk brought them to the coffee-house. The seem- 
ing slave-driver was impatiently pacing the sidewalk out 
side, while his principal, the gambler, was seated at one of 
the windows, smoking reflectively, and apparently with- 
out an unpleasant thought on his mind. 

Eeginald was as capable of as much dissimulation as his 
enemy, and the two met coldly, without any display of feel- 
ing. 

“You now have an opportunity to satisfy yourself of my 
position in the world,^^ said the gambler. “ 1 have writ- 
ten a few addresses on the back of my card, and if your 
friend will make the few calls necessary, I think he will 
be abundantly convinced. 

“ I have no longer any doubts in the matter,^’ said Pren- 
t/ss, calmly, waving away the pasteboard without looking 


DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW OELEANS. 


61 ^ 


at it. ‘‘I am satisfied that you are a gentleman^ Mr. 
Lorraine, and I am ready to give you all the satisfaction 
you desire. 

The gambler looked surprised. 

“ How do 3 "ou know my name?^^ he inquired. 

I accidentally discovered it,’ and 1 am very sorry that 
we are under the necessity of crossing swords. 

“ Then you wish to beg my man^s pardon, and turn over 
that stake money demanded the driver, insolently. 

“ On the contrary, the money is at the victor’s disposal,” 
said the planter; “ and as for apologizing, I can not con- 
sistently when I should be perfectly ready to repeat my 
offense under similar conditions. ” 

‘‘ Then there is nothing to be done until our seconds 
have purchased the rapiers,” said Lorraine. 

“ Only one thing more. As I know your name, permit 
me to hand you my card.” 

The other received it courteously and read the name, 
but Reginald could see no signs of recognition on the gam- 
bler’s countenance. 

“ Now, young gent, if you’ll come along with me we’ll 
buy the blades,” said the driver, who seemed somewhat 
wearied with the long interchange of frigid civilities. 

Streator bowed and followed the other second into the 
street. 

Reginald took a seat at one of the windows of the coffee- 
house and lighted a cigar. From where he sat he had a 
good opportunity to study the other’s face wiLhout danger 
of detection. 

‘‘ Who could believe that fellow to be Dianne’s broilier?” 


40 


DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW OKLEANS, 


thought Prentiss. “ Why^ they are as different as day and 
night. For, while he is cold, calculating and revengeful, 
she is the exact reverse in every way.^^ 

It was indeed, hard to believe; but ho had Dianne’s 
word for it, and that was all he needed. 

To the young planter, who deliberately resolved to meet 
death himself rather than kill his opponent, this period 
of waiting seemed like an interminable age. In reality, 
the seconds were gone less than an hour. When they re- 
turned, Streator carried a long slender bundle under one 
arm. ' ^ 

“ Once more, sir, I ask you if you want to beg my man’s 
pardon and stop the fight?” demanded the driver, striding 
over to where Reginald Prentiss sat. 

‘‘ 1 have no excuses to make,” rejoined the planter. 
Has Mr. Gasparde Lorraine weakened?” 

‘‘ By no means,” shouted the gambler, springing to his 
feet with alacrity. “ All I want is a fair field and no fa- 
vor, and the sword’s will settle the rest. ” 

“ Then all is ready, I believe,” said Streator, speaking 
for his friend. 

‘‘Our carriage is at the corner below here,” said Lor- 
raine’s second, and they went out into the street. 

“ Our carriage is up at the other corner, lieggy. I did 
not want to attract any attention by going together. We 
will meet them on the field,” Frank explained. 

“Very* good,” assented his principal. “And where 
does the meeting take place?” he inquired, as they seated 
them?’'elves in their conveyance. 

« 

“ 111 the country, about six miles out of the city.” 

»T 


41 



\ « 


, DETECTIVE JOHKSOH OF NEW OELEANS. 

“ In a retired spot, I hope/^ 

‘‘ So secluded that there will be no danger of specta- 
tors/^ 

“ And you have seen to engaging a surgeon?^^ 

“ Assuredly; two of the best in New Orleans are already 
on the way in a third carriage/^ 

“ And of course they know where we are going?^^ 
‘‘They do.” 

“ Then I donT see that there is anything more to be 
said about the matter. The rest will develop itself when I 
cross swords with Lorraine. 

And Eeginald settled down in his seat, and pretended to 
enjoy his cigar. But he chewed the end of it nervously 
for a while, twisted the wrapper, and finally was obliged 
to throw the weed away altogether. ^ 

Frank noticed all this, and was not a little disturbed by 
what he was constrained to believe a sign of weakness in 
his principal. It was not a weakness born of fear; that he 
knew, but he could not imagine a plausible reason for his 
friend^’s uneasiness. 

“ Prentiss, my dear friend. said the boy, impulsively, 
when he could no longer bear the silence, “ what is the 
trouble with you? You are not yourself, and you will not 
be in condition to fight unless you can cheer yourself up. 
You are troubled. CanT you confide in me?^^ 

“ I would confide in you readily, my boy, if there was 
anything to confide, was the unsatisfactory answer. 

“ But there is something the matter,’^ asserted Streator. 
“You have a reason out of the ordinary for not wanting 
to light this Lorraine fellow. .Now, havenT you?^^ 

t 


j 


r 


42 


DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW ORLEANS. 


“ Ye-e-s/^ dubiously. 

“ And 1 ought to know about it, in case anything hap- 
pens to you. Oh, by Jove! Lorraine, Lorraine; that’s the 
girl’s name, and the fellow’s too. Have they anything in 
common?” 

Eeginald faltered, looked away from his questioner, and 
then said, brokenly: 

“ They are brother and sister, Frank. Can you under- 
stand my position, now?” 

. “ That you love the girl and must fight her brother?” 

“Exactly.” 

“ Then, Eeggy, my dear friend, for the third time, I 
urge you to let me take your place. I do not urge; I com- 
mand you to do it.’ 

“ But how would that help matters?” Prentiss inquired, 
almost listlessly. 

“ You can’t kill the brother of the girl you love,” as- 
serted S treat or, with the vehemence of conviction. 

“ As well do that as let you do it,” was the answer. 

“ I can’t present my side of the case to your satisfac- 
tion,” said the boy, “ but without more ado 1 insist upon 
having my way.” 

“And 1 insist that you shall. not,” quoth Eeginald. 

“ Frank, you came here as my friend. Act that part to 
the end and you have my gratitude. Don’t ‘ insist ’ any 
more, for it is useless.” 

So they rode on in comparative silence for upwards of an 
hour. Tfheir way was south, along the levee for a good 
part of the distance. Then an abrupt turn to the west- 
ward took them iyhrough a small forest which shut out 


DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW OELEANS. ‘ 43 

\ 

the sight of the water. On the other side of this forest was 
a narrow strip of field, higher and drjer than much of the 
surrounding country. 

It was here that the meeting had been arranged to take 
place, and the surgeons were already on hand. Nothing 
had yet been seen of Lorraine and his friend, but this was 
explained by the fact of their having taken a different, 
more round-about course. 

“We haven^t heard from the other party yet,’^ said one 
of the medical men, coming forward as Eeginald and his 
friend alighted. 

“ Theyfil undoubtedly be here soon,^^ the young planter 
replied. 

“ YouVe been getting up a pleasant reception for us, 1 
see,^^ said Streator, with a touch of good-natured irony, 
as his eye fell upon the lint, bandages, thread and surgi- 
cal implements spread out upon the ground. 

“ These things are very apt to be needed, said the man 
of medicine, griml^p 

The roll of wheeis here diverted the attention of every- 
body to an approaching carriage, which contained Gas- 
parde Lorraine and his friend. 

“ On hand, I see; you havenT shown the white feather 
so far,^^ grunted the slave-driver, as he surveyed the quar- 
tet of men awaiting them. 

There was no reply to this. It merited none. 

The gambler said nothing, but as soon as he had alight- 
ed walked along over the ground to study its formation. 

Eeginald, who had already attended to this prelimi- 
nary, took off his coat. Other garments followed, until he 


' 44 DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW ORLEANS. 

stood in his shirt and trousers, Frank Streator superin- 
tending these preparations. To give the planter’s sword 
freer play the boy ripped off the shirt sleeve with his 
knife. 

Gasparde Lorraine followed suit, and in less than .five 
minutes after his arrival both men were stripped, each had 
examined his rapier carefully and made sure of its quality, 
and they awaited the pleasure of the seconds. 

“Gents,” said the driver, “ there is just one more chance 
for Mr. Prentiss to apologize. If he will do that, and hand 
over the stake money he stole from our table, then his 
apology will be accepted by my man.” 

“ There is no desire to do either,” said Streator, looking 
at his principal for his cue; “ the fight must go on, unless 
Mr. Lorraine withdraws the challenge.” 

“ Which Lorraine won’t do to-dav.” 

“ Then let us get our men in position.” 

Silently the duelists faced each other. 

Both were splendid specimens of' ^lysical development. 
Eeginald was taller and heavier than his opponent, but in 
all other respects they appeared evenly matched. Calm 
and determined, they took their places. 

“ Guard!” shouted the gambler’s second. 

Prentiss and Lorraine touched each other lightly with 
the tips of their rapiers, to make sure that the distance 
was correct. 

Then the blades clashed together over their heads as they 
drew themselves into position. 

“ Are you ready?” asked the slave-driver. 

Quite ready,” came from both men. 


45 


DETECTIVE JOHKSOISr OF HEW ORLEAHS. 

“ One!^^ 

“ Twor 
“ Three F" 

Again the blades clashed; this time with rapid and res- 
onant ring. The bodies of the duelists seemed envel- 
oped in flashes of steel. 

It was a life or a life! Which would succumb? 

Eeggy is deathly pale, but he is cool; he has the best 
chance/^ thought Streator, as he watched them. 

“ If I canT tire him out and wound him slightly, 1 must 
let him kill me,’^ was the thought uppermost in Kegi- 
nald^s mind. “ I canT run Dianne ^s brother through, 
God have mercy on me!^^ 







/ 


46 


DETECTIVE JOHNSON OP NEW ORLEANS. 


CHAPTER V. 

A DASTARDLY TRICK AND A PATHETIC SIDE SCENE. 

For several minutes there was no change. Both men 
seemed to be watching for an opening in the other^s guard, 
but found none. 

There was a sharp, quick interchange of blows. Thrust 
followed thrush, parry succeeded parry, and feints were 
freely made. 

« 

But to Frank Streator it was plain that Lorraine was 

forcing the attack, and he wondered at it for he had every 
confidence in Reginald's skill as a fencer. 

At last, by a dexterous twist, the young planter dis- 
armed his adversary, whose sword was sent fiying through 
the air a distance of twenty feet ere it struck the ground. 

‘‘ I await you, sir,^^ said Prentiss, indifferently, lower- 
ing the point of his blade with a slight salute. 

As Lorraine walked slowly to the spot where the sword 
had fallen, his second followed; and, under pretext of ex- 
amining the rapier, he found opportunity to whisper: 

“ He^s a better man than you, Gasparde. Watch your 
chance, or heTl finish you when you show signs of getting 
tired. 

“ What do you mean?^^ whispered the gambler, cau- 

I 

tiously. 

“ I mean he’s only playing with you.” 

For what purpose i*” 


DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW OKLEANS. 


47 


To run you through when you are too tired to look 
after yourself/^ 

“ Do you think he can best me?’^ 

“ If you ain^t careful he can/^ 

And am 1 not careful?^’ 

“ That ain^t the word. Tricky is what I mean.^^ 

And the slave-dealer gave his principal a knowing look. 

“ And that will lead to shooting, probably, said Lor- 
raine, slowly, as if measuring the chances involved in the 
driver^s proposition. 

So much the better if they do shoot, was the quick 
response; “ we lead at that game.^^ 

‘‘ How are you provided with fire-arms?’^ asked the 
gambler, in the same low tone that both had previously 
used. 

“ l\e got a pair of navies,’^ answered the wretch. 

“That is well,^^ responded Gasparde, “for 1 didn^t 
think to bring any kind of a weapon with me. If there is 
any trouble, 1 will turn to you; hand me one of the irons, 
quick, and don^t wait for a signal to shoot. I follow you. 
If I can run Prentiss through, he^s as good as a dead man 
at the start. Then — 

“ Then Pll make quick work of the boy with him,^^ the 
slave-dealer chimed in, excitedly. “ After that we’ll both 
turn our attention to the sawbones and the hackmen, if 
they show any signs of interfering.” 

The conversation had been a hurried one, and the gam- 
bler and his second, meanwhile, bent the rapier, felt of its 
edge and point, and as soon as their plans were made they 


48.. DKTF.CTIVE JOHNSOK OF KEW ORLEANS. 

appeared to be satisfied with its condition and joined tlieir 
opponents. 

It would seem strange to any man possessing the slight- 
est feeliugs of honor that Gasparde Lorraine could deliber- 
ately contemplate such a vile piece of treachery, when 
Eeginald, had he wished, could have finished him at the 
time of disarming. 

Frank Streator was thoroughly suspicious of the gambler 
and his companion, and had watched them with a feeling 
of great uneasiness. 

‘‘ Look out for them, Eeggy,^’ he whispered; they are 
plotting something over there that doesn^t bode you any 
good. 

‘‘ Let them plot/^ answered Eeginald, listlessly; “ 1 
don^t care much how it comes out.^^ 

But the boy did. He strolled slowly, as if without defi- 
nite purpose, past the surgeons, who were watching the 
proceedings with at least a professional interest, and whis- 
pered to the nearer: 

^ “I suspect those fellows. Will you see fair play?’^ 

We are armed,^^ returned the surgeon, “ and can oe 
depended upon as gentlemen if there are any signs *of 
crooked business. 

That satisfied Frank, who strolled back to his principal. 

The opponents again took their positions, found their 
distances as before, and waited for the signal. 

“ Guard shouted the gambler’s second. 

Eeginald’s lowered blade shot through the air and glis- 
tened over his adversary’s head. 


/ 


DETECTIVE JORKSOIST OF NEW ORLEANS. 


49 


But Gasparde Lorraine made a rapid thrust straight at 
the young planter’s heart. 

Quick as a flash, Prentiss let the point of his rapier fall, 
and the weapon clashed harmlessly as he veered abruptly 
to one side, and thus foiled the dastardly attack. 

Yet not quite harmlessly had their swords met, after all, 
for Eeginald’s right hand was bleeding profusely from a 
deep cut across the back, where the point of the gambler’s 
weapon had penetrated. 

The driver, who believed that shooting must now ensue, 
sent both hands to his hip-pockets. Streator and the sur- 
geons did likewise. There was a moment of glaring mis- 
trust and apprehension on all sides. 

But Eeginald was equal to the occasion. 

“ I am satisfied that it was due to a mistake, or over- 
excitement,” he said, calmly. “ Pray let us go on before 
my hand gets in too bad trim. ” 

Streator was much disgusted, and would probably have 
protested against carrying on the flght, but the other 
second quickly called “ Guard,” and counted rapidly. 

One, two, three!” 

The conflict of the blades rang out again on the still 
morning air, but there was a new significance in the adroit 
movements of Eeginald Prentiss. 

His eyes glittered, his lips were compressed, and his 
former moodiness had disappeared. 

He was leading now; he ivas on the aggressive, and his 
rascally adversary was put to the utmost test of his skill. 

One, two, three, four! One, two, three four! One, 
two, three, four! 


50 


DETECTIVE JOHNSOIsT OF NEW ORLEANS. 


Eeginald had purposely dropped into one of the manual 
drills of his old French fencing-master^ and the reason and 
effect of this were soon apparent. 

Lorraine, parrying the thrusts as best he could, began 
to look for each movement of that drill in regular order, 
and they came in unfailing sequence until — 

Until the young planter saw his opportunity, made a 
new thrust that confused the gambler, who parried so 
clumsily that, ere he could recover, Prentiss had driven his 
sword into his side. 

Gasparde fell backward with a groan of acute agony, 
and the physicians rushed up to him. 

Eeginald had let go the hilt of his weapon, which now * 
stood upright in the wounded duelist^s body. 

Well done, Eeggy!^^ said Streator, approvingly, as he 
hurried over to his principal. 

But the young planter's face was ghastly pale. 

I shall live, Frank,^^ he murmured, brokenly, “but 
my last hope of happiness went with my sword a moment 
ago.-’’ 

“You have wounded that scoundrel,” said Frank, 
soothingly, “ but you can yet win the girl.” 

“ How?” 

“ By showing her what a wretch her brother was, and 
by telling her that he forced the duel upon you.” 

“ Impossible!” Eeginald groaned. 

“ And why impossible?” 

“ Where is the girl, Frank, who could believe her broth- 
er a villain? Even if she could be convinced of it, would 


DETECTIVE JOHNSOK OF NEW ORLEANS. 


51 


a?iy good woman in this broad land turn against her broth- 
er's memory and marry the man who had killed him?^^ 

There was an awful impressiveness in the speaker's tone 
and manner as he asked these questions. Frank per- 
ceived that what he had intended as consolation was only 
goading his friend to deeper despair. 

1 had determined to let him kill me/^ Eeginald went 
on, after a pause, “but when he made that cowardly at- 
tack on me before the signal was given, my blood boiled, 
and 1 forgot that he was Dianne^s brother — I forgot every- 
thing — in a frenzied resolve to pay him for the treachery.'’^ 

The planter spoke with a bitterness which Frank greatly 
preferred to his previous wretchedness. But the old de- 
spair came back with thoughts of Dianne^s sweet face, and 
Eeginald Prentiss, proud man though he was. was never- 
theless a pitiful sight to look upon. 

The slave-driver, in his turn, was dumfounded. He 
appeared too much astonished to speak. The overthrow 
of his plans had been sudden, complete, and stupefying. 

The surgeons meantime had carefully withdrawn the 
sword from Gasparde^s side, uncovering a gaping wound, 
from which the blood poured with sickening copiousness. 

“ IFs a bad cut,’^ said one of the men of medicine, after 
a minute examination, “but with proper care he will puli 
through in a fortnight or so.'^^ 

“He doesn’t deserve to have got off so lightly,” said 
the other surgeon to the disconcerted driver; “ he’s about 
the most scoundrelly man 1 ever saw in a duel!” 

The driver, who appeared to have lost all courage with 


52 


DETECTIVE JOHKSOH OF NEW ORLEANS. 


the unfavorable turn of affairs, said nothing. He even 
pretended not to hear. 

“ Take me to some good hospital, Lorraine whispered, 
faintly. “ I want good attendance, and I have the money 
to pay for it. 

The gambler’s injuries were soon attended to as well as 
could be done with the limited material at hand. He was 
carried to his carriage, one of the surgeons and the dis- 
comfited second accompanying him back to New Orleans. 

Eeginald drew the other doctor aside and asked: 

“ Will he die?” 

“ The chances are good that he will live, but we can not 
say positively for two or three days,” was the answer. 

To what hospital have you sent him?” 

“ To St. Mark’s, a private institution.” 

“ See here, doctor, that man has a sister. Do you think 
she ought to be notified of her brother’s condition and 
whereabouts?” 

Why, bless your soul, no!” said the medical man, 
warmly; it would only upset the girl when there isn’t 
any need for it. Then the girl’s presence might not have 
a beneficial effect on the fellow either. Give me her ad- 
dress, and if it is necessary I can send for her.” 

“No,” answered Reginald; “1 can keep myself in- 
formed of Mr. Lorraine’s condition from day to day, and I 
will see that the lady is sent for if her brother’s life is in 
any danger.” 

The surgeon shrewdly suspected there was some strange 
reason for Prentiss’ reticence, but he manifested no sur- 
prise and asked no questions. 


DETECTIVE JOHKSOK OF NEW ORLEANS. 


53 


Tvvo hours later Elsie received a note at her apartments 
iii the hotel which read as follows: 

“I must stay in the city with Frank for a few days. 
Will endeavor by all possible means to be home by Christ- 
mas. I think you and Miss Lorraine had better start to- 
da3^ Please ask her to accept my apologies for necessarily 
withdrawing my escort. 

“ Reginald. 

“ Oh, dear! I never knew him to act that way before, 
said Elsie, when she had read this short missive through. 
“ And it is particularly strange conduct for a young man 
who is in love.^’ 

Is he in love, Elsie dear? asked Dianne, quietly. 

But there was an unwonted amount of color in her face 
as she put the question. And Miss Prentiss perceived, 
when too late, that she had put her foot in it in her pre- 
cipitation. 

“ Why, to be sure he is,^^ she answered, seeing that an 
evasion might lead to even worse complications. 

“ In love with whom, dear? Is it a secret?’^ 

Why, goosey,^^ responded Elsie, “ you know as well as 
Ido.^^ 

“ I protest that I do not.^^ 

“ Dianne, it^s your own sweet self, and none other. 

“ Oh!’^ said Miss Lorraine, curtly, but she colored pain- 
fully. 

Elsie felt wonderfully ashamed of having thoughtlessly 
broken Reginald's injunctions of secresy; but she hastened 


54 


DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW ORLEANS. 


to repair the damage she had previously done his cause by 
saying : 

‘‘ Dianne dear, don^t ever let Eeggy know that I told 
you this, for I didn^t mean to. It escaped me so quickly 
that I didnH realize it until the mischief was done. But, 
my dear friend and sister, if you can ever come to love 
Eeggy, do so with all your heart, and I will always bless 
you. He’s a dear, good boy, and as worthy of you, 
Dianne, as you are in every way worthy of him. A better 
man doesn’t live. At least, I believe it.’^ 

“It surprises me, then, that you don^t love him your- 
self,” was Dianne’s answer. 

It was thoughtlessly said, but the shot went straight to 
its mark. A tear glistened in Elsie’s eye, her lips quiv- 
ered and she turned away. But not before her friend saw 
it all. 

Dianne was at her side in a moment, shamed and re- 
pentant. 

“ Elsie dear, don’t feel hurt. I didn’t mean it; I take 
it all back. I see how unkind I was. You love Eeginald, 
and yet you would give him up.” 

The storm-clouds had been rapidly gathering, and now 
they broke loose in a torrent of tears. 

“ Dianne, I do love him: indeed, I do!” sobbed Elsie; 
“ but 1 will readily give him up to you. I am not as 
worthy of him as you are, and he would not be as happy 
with me.” 

“You are far more worthy of him than I,” Miss Lor- 
raine protested, warmly, “ for you are willing to give him 
up — ” 


DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW OELEANS. 


55 


“ And make him happier by doing so/’ interjected 
Elsie. “ Were he not happy, I could never be.” 

“You are a noble girl, my darling,” said Dianne, with 
great warmth. “ Such women as you are deserving of the 
princes of the earth or of heaven. So you would sacrifice 
yourself for Eeginald?” 

“ And count myself the happier for doing so,” Elsie re- 
joined, wiping her swollen eyes in an endeavor not to belie 
her words. “ And, Dianne, darling, you do love him, you 
will love him, and make his happiness your one care in 
life. Tell me, promise me.” 

The unhappy girl fell on her knees, and wildly besought 
her friend to make Eeginald Prentiss happy as she only 
could. 

“ I shall soon forget him,” Elsie declared, almost inco- 
herently, “ but he will never love any one but you. He 
will be constant, he will be good and true to you, and you 
will both walk hand in hand in a paradise of your own 
making.” 

Dianne bent over the kneeling girl, kissed her, and lifted 
her to her feet. 

“ 1 will, Elsie; I will, my darling, if he asks me to,” 
she promised. 

And Elsie Prentiss gave up forever the man she loved, 
without a murmur, and without another visible tear. How 
many of our mothers and sisters have similar pages in 
their life’s history? Ah! how many of God’s noblest 
women have sacrificed the truest, the tenderest passions of 
their heart of hearts to make the ofttimes selfish object of 
their devotion happy? 


56 


DETECTIVE JOHNSOK OF NEW ORLEANS. 


This unselfish little woman had, through it all, borne 
nobly the pain of Dianne^s conquest of Eeginald, and had 
her friend not made that ill-timed, heedless remark, she 
would probably have kept her secret forever within that 
anguish-racked breast. 


DETECTIVE JOHNSON' OF NEW OKLEANS. . 57 


CHAPTEE VL 

WHAT BECAME OF THE MONEY. — A TEREIBLE ORDEAL. 

On that same afternoon Elsie and Dianne left New Or- 
leans for the Prentiss plantation. By rail they traveled as 
far as the Sfcreator plantation, whence the remainder of 
the journey consisted of a carriage ride of eight miles. 

Eeginald, who did not deem it best to meet Dianne until 
her brother's rei/ 30 very was positively assured, took rooms 
with Frank Streator at a not very pretentious hotel near 
St. Markus Hospital. 

In the evening Frank learned at the hospital that Gas- 
parde Lorraine was in a fever. Further than that the 
resident physician was uncommunicative; he would not 
hazard an opinion as to the wounded man^s chances of re- 
covery. 

On the strength of this news Prentiss passed a miserable 
night of it, tossing restlessly in his bed for hours, and it 
was not until daylight that sleep first visited him. Slum- 
ber gained under such circumstances is generally heavy, 
and it was in Keginald’s case. ' The sun was high when 
Streator broke noiselessly into his chamber and woke him 
up with: 

“ What do you think, old fellow? Your man has passed 
safely through the fever, and is resting quietly. The 
head-nurse told me herself that in a few days Lorraine will 
be as well as ever.^^ 


58 


DETECTIYE JOHNSOK OF NEW ORLEANS. 


This was good news to Prentiss, who, under its stimulus, 
arose, dressed and eat a hearty breakfast. 

“ I donT know how I came to do it/^ he said, reflective- 
ly, over their cigars afterward. 

‘‘ Do what?^^ Frank inquired. 

“ Why, run Lorraine through. 

Streator shrugged his shoulders and answered: 

It was a case of superior swordsmanship, I should say. 

I 

That is what you went there for."^^ 

“Not at all, my dear boy; on the contrary, I went 
there with a very different intention. 

“ You certainly didnT go there to let him do for you?^^ 
said the youth, incredulously. 

“ Strange as it may seem, that was precisely my plan.'^^ 

Streator looked aghast. It was some moments before 
he could grasp the idea. In his astonishment he forgot his 
cigar. The glow on the end of it paled gradually into a 
gray tint. 

“ See here, Eeggy,^^ he Anally blurted out, “ you donT 
mean to say that you went into a duel with the actual 
purpose of letting an amateur fencer run a long blade 
through your body?^^ 

“ I certainly did,^^ Beginald answered, momentarily 
amused at his friend ^s consternation. 

“ Eather than kill that girFs brother, you would let 
him kill you?^’ demanded Frank, still incredulous. 

“Yes.^" 

“ And why didnT you?^^ 

“ That^s what surprises me now. But when he played 
that cowardly trick on me 1 was fiendishly enraged. I 


DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW ORLEANS. 

parried his blow^ and from that moment 1 went in for 
blood. 

‘‘ And you got it.^^ 

“Idid.^^ 

“ And then collapsed^ and wished yourself wounded in 
his place. 

“Not quite so bad as that/^ replied Eeginald. “ What 
the doctor said on the field gave me hope that it would all 
come out right. The news you brought me last night put 
me in the dumps again, and I didnT sleep much through 
the night, but the encouraging news you brought me be- 
fore breakfast has made a new man of me.^^ 

Frank had by this time mastered his intense astonish- 
ment sufficiently to think of his cigar. He puffed and 
pulled, but no smoke came from it. While fumbling for 
a light another question popped into his head. 

“ Eeggy,^^ he asked, “ what has become of the money 
that caused all this row?’^ 

“ I have it here,^^ rejplied Prentiss, drawing from an in- 
side pocket a well-filled wallet. “ There was considerable 
specie in that pile, but for convenience 1 got the purser 
the boat to put it into bills for me. Here it is. 

“ But I don^t want it,^^ protested Frank, pushing av^ay 
Eeginald^s hand. 

“ As the victor, was the response, “ I have a right to 
dispose of it as I think best. Take it. 

“ I donT want it, and I wonT touch it,^^ Streator re- 
peated, again pushing his friend^s hand away. 

“But iPs yours by right,^^ urged Eeginald. “If it 


DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF KEW ORLEANS. 

58 

hadn^t been I shouldn't have interfered at all in that little 
game. You held the highest hand that was dealt. 

“ 1 know it/^ assented the youth, but 1 won^t touch a 
penny of it, and you might as well stop trying to make 
me. Money that has brought a wound to one man, and 
possible loss of happiness to another, can do me no good. 
It would positively be a harbinger of ill-luck. 

Prentiss was about to return the wallet to his pocket, 
when another thought struck him. 

‘‘ Frank, my boy, I will make a compromise with you. 
Accept what you contributed to the table for that hand, 
and I will do whatever you wish with the rest.-’^ 

“ That isn^t a bad idea, Peggy. How much is there?^^ 
“ Just twelve hundred and eighty dollars. 

“ Of which I put in a fourth; that made my ante three 
hundred and twenty dollars. 

Here it is,^’ said Reginald, quietly, counting out the 
bills and pressing them into the boy^s hand. 

‘‘ And now,^^ said Prank, “ hear my conditions — you 
must put the rest of that money by until you get an op- 
portunity to do some great good with it. 1 intend never 
to go near a gaming-table again, and 1 mean to make a 
decent use of the last money I have won at it. It shall be 
a fund to do some good for some deserving person or per- 
sons when you encounter such."^^ 

‘‘ Spoken like a man, every word of it!^^ cried Reginald, 
enthusiastically. “ Now, come out with me and 1 will 
bank this money at once.^^ 

The business was accomplished in less than half an 
hour, and the friends had nothing to do except idle their 


DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW ORLEANS. 


61 


time away and get frequent bulletins as possible from St. 
Markus. 

, At four in the afternoon they learned Lorraine had an- 
^ other slight touch of fever, but, on the whole, the symp- 
toms were very favorable. 

On the 24th of December, the third day after the duel, 
the gambler had so far recovered from the effects of his 
wound that he was permitted to sit up for an hour in the 
afternoon. All danger of a relapse or of any serious com- 
plications of any nature being now practically past, Eeg- 
inald decided not to delay his journey home any longer. 
He would see Dianne, tell her all, and, if needs be, say the 
final and lasting good-bye to her, the parting that should 
break his heart. 

Acting on his friend^s request, Streator bought a case of 
wine and sent it anonymously to St. Markus for the sole 
use and benefit of Gasparde Lorraine. 

Christmas morning! The friends were up bright and 
earlv, for their train started at seven o^clock. It was an 

•j ' 

hour^s ride by rail to Streator^ s, and from there it was 
nearly two hours more by carriage, owing to the low, 
marshy condition of the soil in that sugar -growing district. 

“ Poor Eeggy looks as if he were riding to his own 
funeral,^^ thought Frank, as he gazed at his friend’s 
moody, woe-begone countenance. “ And the worst of it 
is, I am afraid the last rites will be said over his broken 
heart when he tells that girl, and throws himself on her 
pity.” 

And here the thought that he himself was the wretched 




G2 DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW OKLEANS. 

cause of all this misery to the youn^ planter filled Streator 
with a strange species of self-aversion. 

“ Anyway, it^s an ill wind that blows no good,^^ he 
thought, while casting about in his mind for a ray of com- 
fort. “ If nothing more is gained, it has completely 
weaned me from the gambling-table. But poor Eeggy! 
He is almost heart-broken already, for there is little hope 
for him. I would give uj) my life willingly, if it would 
aid him at all in realizing that faint hope. Henceforth I 
shall be his guardian angel, if a man can be considered in 
that light. 

Frank Streator was addicted to confused metaphors and 
quaint thoughts, even in the most critical of times. It was 
one of the symptoms of his early, undevelojied man- 
hood. 

A shriek from the engine’s whistle, a rumbling and jolt- 
ing of car-wheels, and a perceptible diminution in the 
train’s speed told them that they were nearing Streator’s, 
as the little station was called. In another minute the 
two disconsolate fellow-travelers were standing side by side 
on the platform and the ramshackle train was slowly 
puffing out of the station again. 

“ Merry Christmas, Mas’r Eeg’nald,’ an’* a Merry 
Christmas tuh yo’, Mas’r Frank! It done do an ole man’s 
eyes good tuh see sech fraish young faces in dis yer gloomy 
ken try.” 

An old negro was shuffling along the platform toward 
the young men, bowing obsequiously and grinning almost 
from ear to ear as he spoke. 

And a right Merry Christmas to you. Uncle Hamas- 


DETECTIVE JOHKSON KEW ORLEAKS. G3 

said Reginald, kindly, laying hand on the old 
darky shoulder. 

And the best of wishes from me too, supple- 

mented Streator. 

Whatever brutes may have done in times pasl? Southern 
gentlemen were never other than kind to faithfuUJ^ves. 

Missy Elsie, she done tole me tuh come ovar ^Gah 
suah wid de kerridge; she say she know^ yo^ wouldn^t 
away on Chris^mus,^^ said he of the name of Damascub 
with another series of ground-scraping bows. 

And Miss Lorraine is at the house, too, is sDe not?^^ 
Reginald asked. 

“ Yes, sah,^^ said the aged negro, with a knowing wink 
at vacancy. 

The parting between Prentiss and Streator was a rather 
mournful affair. Both tried to look cheerful and uncon- 
cerned, but the attempt was a lugubrious failure. 

1^11 come down and see you to-morrow or the day 
after, and may God help you through the coming ordeal, 
said Frank, as Reginald was getting into the carriage. 

Uncle Damascus cracked his wip, and the horses started 
off at a slow jog. The young planter tried to enjoy a 
cigar on the homeward ride, with but indifferent success; 
his mind was constantly occupied with what he should say 
to Dianne. 

t 

It was nearly ten o^ clock when the Prentiss mansion was 
reached. Reginald's mother welcomed him in the hall- 
way. She was a motherly woman, stout, of matronly ap- 
pearance, and seemingly about fifty years of age. With 


64 DETECTIVE JOHFDH OF NEW ORLEANS. 

her was Elsie, and th young man wondered at the singu- 
larly quiet demean/! of his pretty cousin. 

Dianne is -h the library, reading,^ ^ said the latter, 
almost in a whisper. “Go to her as soon as you have 
gone to yoir room and dressed. Why, Reggy,^^ she add- 
ed, catcling a better glimpse of his moody face, “ you look 
as if ohis were anything but a happy home-coming for 
you/ ^ 

“Go into the library with Miss Lorraine, he said to 
Elsie, when his mother started to return to her room, 
“ but leave us soon after I come in.'^^ 

And Elsie obeyed, wondering what it could all mean. 

The task of dressing was a feverish one, but the young 

m-aii was presently arrayed to his satisfaction, and came 

» 

down-stairs to enter the terrible ordeal whose outcome he 
only too plainly saw. 

Dianne was ensconced in a snug chair near a cheery 
grate-fire. She had laid aside her book when the young 
man entered and rose to greet him with a glowing face. 

“You have played truant for a long time, Mr. Prentiss, 
but you have come in time to make my Christmas more 
pleasant. 

Reginald bowed and tried to speak, but could only say: 

“ I am very glad of it.'’^ 

Then, noticing that Elsie had left the room, he came to 
the point at once. 

“ Miss Lorraine, he said, “ I have a great deal that I 
feel obliged to tell you, and 1 hardly know how to begin 
it.^^ 


“ Indeed in some surprise. 


DETECTIVE JOHI^TSOlSr OP ISTEW OKLEAKS. 


65 


And she did not relish altogether his tone and manner. 

“ Miss Lorraine/’ he began again, with some difhcult^^, 
“ a sense of duty as host in this house will not even permit 
me to defer till to-morrow what I have to say. Mine is a 
horrible position indeed, and at the outset I beseech your 
charity. 

“ One would think you a criminal, and I your judge, 
Dianne began, but another look at his intensely solemn 
face checked further levity on her part. 

“ I fear that 'before 1 am through you will regard me 
very much in that light,^^^he answered, sadly; “ but please 
be seated, for it will take you some time to hear me out. 

She resumed her seat at his request, and Eeginald stood 
leaning against the mantel, studying the ceiling, the car- 
pet, anything but her face, as he resumed: 

“ What I have to tell you first, I should, in the natural' 
course of events, postpone until you were better acquaint- 
ed with me. I say it now, not so much in justification of 
myself as that you may have a better comprehension of 
my position. 

“ Do not think me premature, Miss Lorraine, nor yet 
believe me lacking in courtesy or consideration. 1 may as 
well come to it at once. Since the first evening of our 
acquaintance I — I — I have loved you.^’ 

He was looking into her eyes now. Those words, so 
often uttered under the happiest of auspices, had fired 
him. The passion they generated in him blinded him for 
a moment to all other recollections. 

Dianne, too, was impassioned by this avowal, abrupt 
though not unexpected. She had been gazing at her hero, 

3 " 


66 


DETECTIVE JOHNSON" OF NEW ORLEANS. 


but her eyes fell to the carpet. Impulsively, tenderly, 
though perhaps unconsciously, she raised her hand and 
gently rested it on his arm. 

Too chivalrous to allow her to commit herself to any 
greater extent, under the circumstances, Eeginald went 
on: 

“ 1 do not ask you, indeed 1 beseech you not to make 
any reply until you have heard all. 1 simply ask you to 
believe implicitly if you can what I have told you, Di — 
Dianne. 

It was the first time he had addressed her by her Christ, 
ian name, and it gave him a momentary thrill of pleasure. 

I now come to the second part of what I have to tell 

you. 

“ On that same evening when we first met, 1 became in- 
volved in a dispute at a card-table. It resulted in a chal- 
lenge, which I agreed to accept. The duel was fought on 
the outskirts of New Orleans. When I knew all the cir- 
cumstances I would gladly have averted the encounter had 
it been possible to do so; but an apology from me was the 
only way in which 1 could accomplish it. As 1 had done 
nothing inconsistent with my sense of etiquette or honor, I 
could not avail myself of that means out of the difficulty. 
We fought; I ran my opponent through with a sword, and 
he was taken to the hospital, where he will gradually re- 
cover. 

“ That was an unfortunate affair,^’ said Dianne, quiet- 
ly; “ but it had a much happier ending than many duels. 
No one can blame you, I am sure, if you acted up to yo^v 
best sense of right and wrong. 


DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW ORLEANS. 67 

“ Bufc you will blame me. Miss Lorraine — Dianne. You 
will despise me when you know the rest/^ 

“ I think not. Why should 

“ Because — because — the man I wounded was — was — 
your brother. 

‘‘ My brother? Gasparde, my brother ?^^ shrieked 
Dianne, bounding to her feet. “ Oh, this is some cruel 
hoax! Tell me it is, tell me it is, Eeginald, and I will for- 
give you the pain you have caused me!^^ 

She looked appealingly into his sad, handsome face, but 
there she found only too plainly the confirmation of his 
words. 

“ 1 ask you to believe that I love you truly, Dianne,^^ 
he said, in subdued tones, “ and I ask you to believe that 
had there been any possible way of avoiding an encounter 
1 would have found it.^^ 

“ You love me, and yet you would kill my brother? 
Monster! You paradox of lover and friend, let this inter- 
view cease at once. I must leave this house at once. Its 
atmosphere stifles meT^ 

There was a sudden vehemence of anger and passion in 
the infuriated woman^s tones that awed the man who stood 
before her. 

Eeginald sunk into a chair, his head fell forward into 
his hands, and he did not know when Dianne left the 


room. 


68 


DETECTIVE JOHETSON OF NEW ORLEANS. 


CHAPTEE VII. 

FRANK STREATOR^S ACCOUNT OF THE DUEL. 

Dianne^s suddenly formed resolution to leave the 
Prentiss mansion was as suddenly carried out. She hast- 
ened to Elsie and then made known her intentions. 

“ Why, my dear girl/^ said that young lady, very much 
surprised, “ you look as wild as Lady Macbeth herself 
might be supposed to look. What has happened, dar- 
ling 

But Dianne made no answer. She sunk into a seat in 
Elsie^s cosy little boudoir, where the dialogue was taking 
place, and buried her face in her hands. 

“ I wonder what Eeginald has told her,’^ thought Miss 
Prentiss. ‘^It must be something he has said or done 
that has caused this sudden resolve, and yet Eeggy can^t 
have been ungentlemanly to her. It^ s contrary to his 
nature to say hard things to any woman under the sun. 
Can it be that he has already proposed, and that she has 
taken it into her head to reject him, and leave the field', 
as she supposes, clear to me?’^ 

Dianne, darling,^ ^ she said aloud, “ can it be possible 
that my cousin has already asked you to be his wife?^^ 

“ No,^^ answered Miss Lorraine, hotly, but without 
looking up. 

“ Dianne, do tell me. what this is all about, unless you 
wish to drive me wild.^^ 


DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW ORLEANS. 


69 


“Ask Mr. Prentiss; he may tell you/’ was the only 
answer. 

“ Oh, dear; then it really is something Eeggy has 
done/^ thought Elsie, and then aloud: “Is it really so 
bad that you must leave us on Christmas, of all the happy 
days in the year?” 

“ I really must,^^ said Dianne, looking up with a white, 
hard-set face. “ When does the next train go?^^ 

“ The only one back to New Orleans to-day leaves 
Streator^s at four. But I must go and tell auntie. She 
will not hear of your going.^^ 

“ Then I beg of you, dear, if you really do love me, not 
to say a word to her until it is time for me to go. Don^t 
make it too hard for me to bear, dear.^^ 

“Elsie, sorely perplexed and deeply grieved at this sudden 
turn of affairs, knew not what to do, and stood for several 
minutes fixedly watching her school chumps face. 

But Dianne^s countenance was sphinx-like in its immo- 
bility. It betrayed nothing more than the deepest anguish 
of soul; it gave no clew to the cause of the suffering. 

At noon the girls had a lunch served in the boudoir, 
which room the guest steadfastly refused to leave until it 
was time for her to dress. At two o^clock, Mrs. Prentiss 
was made acquainted with Miss Lorraine^s determination. 
She perceived the futility of remonstrance and made none. 
The carriage was ordered, and Dianne presented herself 
before her hostess for leave-taking. Elsie insisted on ac- 
companying her to the station, but her friend emphatic- 
ally overruled her. 

“ Ask your cousin the name of the hospital,” said Miss 

V 

\ 


70 


DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW ORLEANS. 


___ •> . 

Lorraine, and Elsie, much mystified, departed to find 
Reginald. 

“ St. Mark’s,^^ she said, returning a few moments later. 

Dianne drew on her gloves and went down-stairs, fol- 
lowed by Elsie, whose face presented a picture of acute 
woe. Mrs. Prentiss, having already said good-bye to her 
guest, did not reappear and Reginald was not to be seen. 
He had wisely concluded that it would be as well to keep 
to his room until after she had gone. 

“ Good-bye, dear,^^ said Miss Lorraine, her white face 
bearing tJie same rigidity it had worn ever since her inter- 
view with Reginald in the library. “ Good-bye; we shall 
meet again at the seminary when the holidays are over.^^ 

‘‘Good-bye, darling,"'^ sobbed Elsie, her self-restraint 
breaking down at the last moment. Poor, unselfish little 
woman, her heart was almost breaking now, when she 
realized the consequences to Reginald of Dianne^s going 
away. 

Uncle Damascus presided on the box of the same car- 
riage that had brought the young planter home in the 
morning. The aged coachman looked grouty enough at 
having been taken from his family circle just in time to 
lose the Christmas dinner with which the Prentiss slaves 
were always provided on that holiday. 

Miss Lorraine entered the vehicle and arranged herself 
among the cushions. Then she kissed her ha^id to tlie 
sobbing Elsie on the veranda, who returned the salute 
lugubriously, and then the horses started off on a slow trot 
down the long graveled drive- way. 

The curtains parted at a chamber window, and the pale 


DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW ORLEANS. 


71 


anguished face of a man peered yearningly after the car- 
riage. He stretched out his arnis^ moaned brokenly, 

Oh, my love, my lost love!^^ and watched the carriage 
out of sight. 

But Dianne knew nothing of this. She was undergoing 
the acutest mental torture, for she, miserable, unhappy 
woman that she was, was constrained to believe that she 
had given her love to an unworthy man — a fiend in human 
shape, who could prize her only as a beautiful woman. 

How she got to the end of her ride she never knew. 
ISiot once did she change her position ever so little among 
the cushions. She saw nothing on the way, looked neither 
to the right nor the left, but remained with her eyes fixed, 
unseeing, on the empty seat before her. 

Streator's was reached at last, and the platform was de- 
serted. Dianne passed into the little waiting-room, and 
there, by a stranger fortuity of circumstances was Frank 
Streator. He was puffing consolation from a short briar 
pipe, but he put it down on the settle and came eagerly 
forward. 

“ Miss Lorraine, he said, lifting his hat and stretching 
out his hand, “ something told me you would be here, and 
I came on purpose to see you.^^ 

“ Then I presume you know why I am here,^^ she said, 
coldly acknowledging his salute, but not troubling herself 
to offer her hand. 

“ 1 was Mr. Prentiss's second," said the boy, simply. 

“ Then>you were also leagued against my brother for his 
destruction?" 

“ Leagued against him? No, indeed; the < hallenge 


72 


DETECTIVE JOHNSOK OF NEW OKLEANS. 


came from him. My friend did not even agree to fight 
him until satisfied that he was a gentleman, and entitled 
to such a meeting. 

“ Gasparde a gentleman she echoed, with haughty 
disdain, and added with veliement incinlity, “ Why, he is 
more of a gentleman than either or both of you. He 
would not be guilty of such cruelty to a lady who was to 
be his guest, and he would not abet such a deliberate 
insult.’^ ' 

“ My dear Miss Lorraine, I fear you do not at all under- 
stand the case,^^ said Streator, struggling to be calm. 

“Mr. Prentiss has told nie,^^ she replied, “that they 
quarreled over cards, that my brother was forced to chal- 
lenge him, and that he fought Gasparde, knowing him to 
be my brother, and knowing me to be his and his mother^s 
guest. 

“ That^s just like Peggy, Frank broke in impatiently; 
“ he was too much of a gentleman to tell you what could 
only make you despise your brother. Why, Lorraine acted 
the part of an arrant knave. He cheated — 

“ Stop, sir!^^ cried Dianne, facing the youth with flash- 
ing eyes. “ I will not hear another word. You would 
not dare to so insult me if Gasparde were here.^^ 

“You have done my friend an injustice,^’ said Streator, 
excitedly, “ and,' by heavens, you shall hear me to the 
end! Do you think 1 will see Eeginald Prentiss so bitterly 
calumnied in your heart when he is so little deserving of 
it? Peserve your judgment. Miss Lorraine, until you 
have heard my version of this afl’air, a version which Pren- 


DETECTIVE JOHNSOi^ OF NEW ORLEANS. 


73 


tiss was too noble-hearted to give you, but which I, as his 
friend, am determined that you shall know."^^ 

“ I am helpless,^ ^ said Dianne, bitterly, “ and can not 
but hear if you insist. But you may say all you wish, de- 
liberately lie, if you will, and it will not clear your blood- 
stained friend in my eyes.^^ 

“You must hear me,^^ rejoined the boy, ‘‘ even though 
I clearly see I can not forestall your prejudice. It is a 
long story. Please be seated. 

Dianne glared at him for a moment, but silently took a 
seat, and Streator did likewise. 

“ In the first place, he began, “ Prentiss was not play- 
ing, 1 was. Your brother anrl two of his friends were my 
companions — Prentiss was only a spectator. I was losing 
heavily. Your brother was winning in the same ratio, 
and I was fast becoming ruined. At last, I had the high- 
est hand possible but one; that hand which would make 
mine worthless your brother secured by duplicates which 
he secreted under his leg. That would have defeated me, 
and robbed me of considerably over 11,000 which I had 
honestly won. Eeginald Prentiss, the best friend a man 
e^er had, detected the fraud, and came to my rescue at the 
risk of being shot for his interference.^^ 

“ And do you expect me to believe this?^^ Dianne asked, 
bitterly. 

^‘1 am not yet through with my story,^’ answered 
Streator. “Eeginald, when he discovered how infamous- 
ly 1 had been swindled — 

“ Stop, sir!^^ cried the girl, looking with her blazing, 
dilating orbs directly into Streator’s eyes. “ You shall 


74 


DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW ORLEANS. 


not couple the word ‘ swindler ^ with Gasparde’s name; 

no, not if I have to so far forget myself as to stop your ly- 
ing tongue by pulling it out/ 

“ Eeginald seized the stake money from under his 
hands/^ Streator went on, ignoring the interruption with 
provoking coolness, “and then Lorraine pointed a pistol 
at his head, and ordered him to put the money down. 
Your brother would have been a deliberate murderer if a 
well-aimed champagne bottle had not struck him on the 
head and felled him to the floor. 

Gasparde, when he met Dianne on the boat, had ac- 
counted for the scar on his head by saying it was the re- 
sult of a foolish wrestling bout, but of this Miss Lorraine 
hardly thought now. 

“When he rose to his feet,^^ Streator resumed, “he 
drew a knife, and again tried to murder my friend, but the 
captain of the boat collared him and threatened to throw 
him into the river, as he deserved to be. Then came the 
challenge. 

“ Which your friend, Mr. Prentiss, made such good use 

of, ^^ Dianne rejoined, tauntingly. 

“ Which my friend, Mr. Prentiss, would have given all 
he possessed to have been able to honorably decline, sup- 
plemented Frank. 

“Go on, said Dianne, cuttingly; “1 am anxious to 
have the recital done with.^^ 

“ I now come to the strangest, most incomprehensible 
part of it all, Streator went on, without looking at his 
companion. “ When Reginald Prentiss discovered his 
opponent to be your brother, he went to the place of meet- 


DETECTIVE JOHKSON OF KEW OKLEANS. 


75 


ing determined to die himself sooner than deprive you of 
even such a brother as Gasparde Lorraine/^ 

“ Indeed?’^ demanded Dianne, loftily. 

“ As his friend/^ answered the boy, “ I know that to 
have been his purpose.'’^ 

“He so thoroughly and nobly carried it out,^^ said 
Dianne, with bitter irony. 

“ It would have been carried out,^^ was the quick an- 
swer, “ if Gasparde Lorraine had possessed ever so small a 
fraction of the honor and generosity which actuated his 
opponent in that duel. It was fought with rapiers. Eeg- 
inald acted only on the defensive until he saw an oppor- 
tunity to disarm the man who was seeking his life. Then 
your brother's sword went flying through the air and the 
noble fellow whom you have so misjudged might have 
killed him on the spot had he been so inclined. 

“ It is a wonder he did not, since he subsequently tried 
to,^^ said Dianne, studying the floor. 

“ He did not subsequently try to,^^ corrected IStreator, 
“ though I should have not blamed him if he did. It 
came about in this way : When they faced each other again 
Lorraine had seen enough of the other^s superior swords- 
manship to know that he had no chance in a fair flght; he 
aimed a cowardly blow at Eeggy before the word had been 
given. Had it not been for a most skillful parry on my 
friend^s part, your noble brother would have been success- 
ful in his third attempt at murder. 

“ It would be hard to imagine what more terrible 
charges you could bring against a man so superior to your 
friend, but I doubt not your fertile imagination will yet 


76 


DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW OKLEANS. 


serve you to that extent/^ said Miss Lorraine, looking at 
the other calmly. 

Fix)m the nature of things this conversation can not 
be a cordial one/^ the boy rejoined, and it will not sur- 
prise, me if it is hardly courteous either. 

‘‘ Is not your little narrative yet ended 
“ Not yet, though there is little more to be told. Eeg- 
inald overlooked Lorraine’s cowardly attack, though his 
right hand was badly cut in avoiding it. Perhaps you 
noticed the scar when you met him this morning.^” 

Streator looked searchingly at her as he put this ques- 
tion. Dianne had seen the scar, remembered it, but gave 
no sign, made no answer to her interlocutor. 

“ They had faced each other again,” the boy went on, 
“ and I saw a change in Eeggy. He was enraged at Lor- 
raine’s treachery, as what man would not have been? To 
make it short your brother’s lack of skill with the rapier 
cost him a wound he richly deserved. He was taken to an 
hospital, and Eeggy would not leave New Orleans until as- 
sured that he was out of danger. The last thing my friend 
did yesterday was to order a case of wine sent anonymously 
to the hospital for Lorraine’s use during his convalescence. 
As his recovery is now assured, you need give your^lf no 
alarm about a brother who is doubtless very dear to you.” 
Dianne was silent. Her auger had gone, and with it 
much of her disdain. Frank Streator had so much mod- 
ified his manner that she could find no protest had she 
wished for being angry with this boy, whose sole offense 
after all was to see justice done his tried and trusted 
friend. 


DETECTIVE JOHIISOlsr OF KEW ORLEAKS. 


77 


“ 1 am very sorry. Miss Lorraine that this interview was 
necessary/^ Frank went on after a pause. “ I have been 
forced to say many things for which 1 shall not blame you 
for being angry with me. Believe me, I should not have 
permitted myself to otfend you had it not been for my de- 
sire to right a friend who risked his life to save me from 
losing my money. 

“ Do you ask me to believe my brother no better than a 
criminal asked Dianne, with . something of her former 
hauteur and disdain. 

I do not urge it upon you in that light, was the an- 
swer. “ I have only told you the facts of a dramatic epi- 
sode ju^t as they really occurred. I do not even ask you 
to believe me, though I assure you that everything I have 
narrated did happen. Since Keginald Prentiss preferred 
to spare your feelings, 1 have felt called upon to state his 
defense to you.^^ 

“ And why, do you think, did he not attempt to exon- 
erate himself. If such exoneration were so easy?^^ 

In spite of herself, a self-conscious blush rose to the fair 
girPs forehead as she put this question, whose answer she 
so well knew. 

Frank saw the blush, and he understood it. 

“ A gentleman ^s courtesy to a woman whom he 
esteems, he answered, “ would in a case like this prevent 
him from explaining that which his friend need hav^e no 
hesitation in making clear. 

The shriek of a whistle, followed by the rumbling of 
cars, announced that the over-due train had arrived at 
last. 


i 

78 'detective JOHNSON OF NEW ORLEANS. 

Frank arose, and his companion did likewise. 

“ If I have been a trifle more plain than courtesy wouid 
ordinarily permit, remember. Miss Lorraine, that I plead 
justice to a friend as my excuse. 

“ 1 thank you,’^ was all Dianne could say. 

His earnest words had made an impression upon her that 
she hardly strove to shake ofl. 

Unceasingly during that hour^s ride back to New Orleans 
did her mind grasp the problem. \ 

Frank Streator^s very impulsiveness, backed up by his 
appearance of great candor, inclined her to believe in him 
to a certain extent. 

But on one point she was not convinced. No one could 
make her believe her brother really guilty of dishonorable 
conduct. 

“ I don^t wish to do injustice to any one, but there is a 
great deal of mystery here,^^ she thought. “ However, I 
shall be v/ith Gasparde soon. He will tell me the truth; 
he will clear up everything. 


DETECTIVE JOHNSO]^^ OF NEW OKLEANS. 


79 


CHAPTER Vlll. 

“you are not my sister, leave me!’^ 

While Dianne was still thinking over the strange events 
which had come to her knowledge within the past few 
hours, the train rolled into the depot at New Orleans. 

She gathered up the few possessions she had with her^ 
and alighting from the train, engaged the first cab-driver 
whom she encountered. 

The St. Markus Hospital was not far away, and when 
she made known her relationship to the wounded man, the 
head nurse showed no hesitation about admitting her to 
see him. 

Gasparde was sitting up, though still pale and weak 
from the loss of blood and the run of the fever. About 
the first thing that Dianne noticed was a small bottle of 
champagne, which had been opened and which stood on a 
table at the side of the invalid. 

Then she remembered what Frank Streator had told her 
of Reginald's anonymous kindness toward the brother of 
the woman whom he loved. 

There might have been some signs of surprise in Lor- 
raine^s eyes when he first saw his sister comiug into the 
ward where he was, but an observant person would have 
read no pleasure there. 

But Dianne was not accustomed to demoiistratioiis from 
him, so she came forward and kissed him, saying simply: 


80 


DETECTIVE JOHJS^SOK OE KEW ORLEAKS. 


“ I have just learned that you have been wounded, Gas- 
parde, and I came here at once. 

1 thought you were out in the country stopping with 
friends/^ he said, receiving her indifferently. 

“So I was, dear,^^ she answered, somewhat evasively, 
“ but it was near here, and so 1 heard all about your be- 
ing wounded, though not until to-day.-’^ 

Dianne had determined not to tell him who her inform- 
ant was until he was better able to bear the shock the news 
might impart, and Gasparde was too listless to inquire. 

“You seem quite comfortable here,^^ she said, looking 
about her at the appointments. “ And 1 see you are pro- 
vided with champagne,^’ she added. 

“Yes, of course, but I shall have to pay just double 
price for the wine and everything else when I leave, Lor- 
raine answered, with a sleepy yawn. 

She saw that he did not suspect his supposed enemy of 
sending the champagne, and she did not enlighten him for 
the present. 

“ 1 wish they would let a fellow smoke a cigar, but they 
are so devilish strict in here,^^ he observed wearily, after a 
brief pause in the conversation. 

“ You will soon be out of here, dear,^^ Dianne answered, 
soothingly, “ and then you can have everything you want. 
I will engage apartments somewhere in the city, and 1 
shall make you very comfortable during your convales- 
cence.^^ 

Gasparde’s only answer was a short little grunt, which 
did not convey any particular meaning. 


DETECTIVE JOHNSOil OF KEW ORLEAKS. 


81 


The conversation flagged for the next half hour. For 
different reasons neither cared to talk much that day. 

Let it not be supposed that Dianne Lorraine was not 
anxious to know her brother's version of the dueh but she 
did not think it wise to broach the subject until he was 
better able to stand that excitement such a conversation 
and the confession she had to make would entail. 

At last the head nurse came in and said: 

“ 1 am sorry to cut your visit short. Miss Lorraine, but 
your brother needs rest free even from the slightest excite- 
ment more than he needs anything else at present, so I 
think you had better go. You can come again to-morrow 
at the same hour. 

Dianne rose submissively. 

“ How soon do you think Mr. Lorraine will be in 
condition to be removed to his own quarters she in- 
quired. 

“ Doubtless in a week,^^ the head nurse answered, and 
escorted her to the outer door of the hospital. 

Dianne was glad to reach the outside air, and for good 
reasons. 

She had longed to throw her arms around Gasparde^s 
neck and implore him to tell her all. She could not en- 
dure to believe against reason that Reginald had willfully 
wronged her brother. If Gasparde would tell her all the 
circumstances, she felt confident that they would not be 
altogether unfavorable to the young planter. 

Did she love Reginald Prentiss, now? 

Ay, she did, and passionately, fondly, enduringly. She 
had striven that morning to hate him, but even her almost 


82 


DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW ORLEANS. 


indomitable will could not altogether triumph over her 
love and crush it out. 

Yet her love was to be her curse, her bane. Gasparde 
and Eeginald had crossed swords on the field of honor, 
and that, to her mind, meant a feud between the families 
which for generations could not be wiped out. 

Dianne longed to exonerate her lover in her own mind, 
and that was the extent of happiness she could hope for in 
this world. Yet even so much would be sweeter to her 
than any one else could guess, and with it she would try to 
be content. 

Marry any one else she could not, and she believed that 
in the next world, where there are no enmities, no feuds, 
she could find the happiness denied her in this, in a celes- 
tial wedlock with the only man she had ever loved, the 
only man she ever could love. 

' She called on Gasparde the next day, and again on the 
next, and so on. Meanwhile, she had been actively en- 
gaged in preparing a suite of apartments in a quiet but by 
no means unpretentious portion of the city. 

On New-year^s-day she had the happiness of seeing her 
now rapidly convalescent brother installed in his own 
rooms. 

‘^Are they not sweet asked Dianne, surveying the 
apartments after she had helped Gasparde in from the 
carriage. 

But that worthy only yawned and stretched, and man- 
like sat down to smoke a cigar, the first since his illness. 

Seeing, in even his careless, indifierent mood, that Dianne 


DETECTIVE JOHlSrSOlI OF NEW OKLEANS. 


83 


was greatly disappointed, he eventually tried to salve her 
wounded feelings by saying: 

“ After all, my dear girl, IVe been in worse apartments 
than these in the course of my short but erratic career. 
By eJove! it really does seem, now I come to look around 
me, that you must have had me in your mind every move 
you made. You have put in just what 1 wanted, even to 
the escritoire in the corner there, which will come in very 
handy to me.^^ 

All of which mollified Dianne greatly, and caused her to 
feel that Gasparde was not by any means the least appre- 
ciative of brothers. 

The next day was fine, and, to her great joy, the invalid 
was able to take a short drive with her in a livery-stable 
carriage which she had retained in his name for his stay in 
New Orleans. 

When he came back to the house, Gasparde seemed so 
tired that his ever-attentive sister insisted on his resting at 
once. To this plan he demurred, however, saying: 

‘‘ I suppose the escritoire is well stocked with station- 
ery?^^ 

“Yes, dear. 

“ Then have the goodness to get the key and unlock it. 
1 wish to write a few letters.’’ 

Dianne looked anxiously at her brother, who was more 
flushed than she liked to see him. 

“ If the letters are not private — ” she ventured. 

“Well?” 

“I was going to suggest, dear, that you dictate your let- 


N 


84 DETECTIYE JOHKSOK OF NEW OELEAKS. 

ters to me. I do not like to see you tiring yourself until 
you are stronger.'’^ 

. Gasparde shrugged his shoulders impatiently. 

Bah^ Dianne, my dear, you are altogether "too consid- 
erate of me. I intensely object to being coddled for the 
rest of my natural days. Bring the key and unlock the 
escritoire. 

There seemed to be no help for it, so Dianne did as de- 
sired, and seated herself near by, anxiously watching her 
brother all the while, afraid lest he should overdo himself 
in his weak condition. 

But, to her relief, he only wrote three letters, and each 
seemed confined to a few words. He wrote slowly, and 
with trembling hand, but in half an hour the task was 
done, and he laid aside the pen with a sigh of relief. 

‘‘ HavB you finished, dear?^^ she asked. 

“ Yes; call Jennie and send her to mail these letters at 
once. 

Jennie was a mulatto girl, their only servant. Dianne 
did as directed, and the letters were soon on their way to 
their several destinations. 

“l.have asked a few friends to call upon me,’ ^ Gas- 
parde said shortly, by way of explanation. 

“ They will not come for a few days, 1 trust.” 

‘‘ And why not?” he demanded. 

“ Because I do not think you are quite strong enough 
yet to receive visitors.” 

“ Confound it, Dianne, why will you insist on making a 
baby of me?” he queried petulantly. “ They will prob- 
ably be here to-morrow, so let me hear no more about it.” 

1 

i 

/ 


DETECTIVE JOHlSTSOIsr OF KEW ORLEAIS^S. 


85 


Before noon the next day two young men called. Gas- 
parcle introduced them to his sister, and then took them 
immediately to his room, where they remained over an hour. 

They were gentlemanly enough in their deportment, and 
certainly very fastidious in their dress; but for some reason 
inexplicable to Dianne, she was not favorably impressed 
with them, and regretted that they were Gasparde^s 
friends. 

At three o^clock the third man called. He was a short, 
stout, puffy man, apparently past forty, with a red, bloat- 
ed visage that bespoke a tendency to apoplexy. In man- 
ner he was unmistakably a trifle coarse, but as if aware of 
his deficiency, he tried to gloss his mannerisms with an as- 
sumption of gentility that sat but illy upon him. 

“ Captain Linscomb, my sister, said Gasparde, who 
was unquestionably very affable with his third visitor. 

The captain bowed Jow, and then cast a look of too 
manifest admiration upon Dianne, which somehow made 
her shudder. The visitor entertained himself with a few 
minutes^ conversation with her, but she was so unfavorably 
impressed with him that she found it impossible to treat 
him very graciously. 

“ This way, captain, her brother said at last, leading 
the way to his room. 

“ 1 wonder where Gasparde made the acquaintance of 
such men,^^ Dianne thought, when, much to her relief, 
she was left to herself again. “ 1 dont fancy such fellows 
coming here. They do not appear to be gentlemen, 
though, of course, they are, or Gasparde wouldnT know 
them.^^ 


86 


DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW ORLEANS. 


With this loyal conclusion Dianne tried to content her- 
self. 

The captain was closeted with Lorraine until after five. 
When they came out again the visitor seemed loth to 
leave, and, seating himself in the parlor, tried to draw 
Dianne out again with about as much success as on the 
former occasion. 

Seeing, however, that he had not created much of an 
impression. Captain Linscomb took his leave of her, and 
then of his host, giving the latter a significant look as he 
was shown out by the mulatto. 

“ Dianne, how do you like the captain?^^ asked her 
brother when the visitor had departed. 

“ I don^t like him at all,^^ wa^the very prompt answer. 
Gasparde arched his eyebrows and looked inquiringly at 
her with the plainest displeasure. 

‘‘ Captain Linscomb is a friend of mine, and a splendid 
fellow, too. I wish you would alter your opinion of him 

A 

very materially. 

“ I can not,^^ she returned, shortly. 

“ But it is necessary that you should. 

“ Necessary?^^ 

Yes, very.^^ 

1 do not understand you.^^ 

Then it is just as well that you should understand me 
at once,^^ said Gasparde, who was manifestly ill at ease. 
“ The captain has been so good as to ask for your hand in 
marriage, and I told him his suit would have my hearty 
sanction. 

, Dianne started and turned ghastly pale. She did not 


it 


a 


it 


DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW OELEANS. 


87 


make any outcry^ though she was thoroughly frighten- 
ed. 

“ 1 thought you would be astonished, said her brother, 
dryly. ‘‘But you needn’t be horrified at the idea. The 
captain will make a model husband.” 

“ Never, for me,” gasped Dianne, with a shudder. 

“ Why not?” he demanded, angrily, rising to his feet 
and pacing the apartment. “ I tell you, girl, I, too, 
have set my heart on this marriage, and it must come off; 
the sooner the better. ” 

* 

“ Oh, Gasparde!” moaned Dianne, “ how can you be so 
unkind?” 

“ Unkind?” he queried, savagely, pausing to look at her 
with haughty disdain. 

“It is unkind,” she answered, angrily, rising to her 
feet; “ and more than that, 1 will tell you it is fiendish 
conduct in a brother. Why, he is not a gentleman in any 
sense of the word. If he were, he would not have made 
such a proposition after seeing me but once.” 

“ Captain Linscomb not a gentleman?” shouted Gas- 
parde, thoroughly losing his self-possession. ‘ ‘ Why he 
belongs to one of the first families. ’ ’ 

“ One of the first families where?” asked Dianne, scorn- 
fully. 

“Why — why, here in New Orleans,” Gasparde an- 
swered, plainly disconcerted by the question. 

“ It is strange then,” she returned,, ironically, “ that I 
never so much as heard the name before. 

“ That makes not the slightest difference,” he returned 
with savage emphasist “ I have told Captain Linscomb 


88 DETECTIVE J0HKS02ST OF I^EW ORLEANS. 

that you will marry him inside of three months, and do it 
you must.^^ 

‘‘Must!’^ repeated Dianne, wrathfully, facing her 
brother with all the scorn and dignity of outraged woman- 
hood. “ Then hear me; I will not!^^ 

“ And if you please, why not, miss?^^ queried Gasparde, 
sneeringly. 

“ In the first place, because I do not love him, and never 
could under any circumstances.^^ 

“ Then you love some one else— some worthless scamp?^^ 
It was Dianne^s turn to be disconcerted. But only mo- 
mentarily; she quickly recovered her rigid self-possession. 

That moment, however, sufiiced to show her keenly 
observant brother that his shot had told well. 

“ Ha!’^ he cried. I have the truth. Who is he? 
As your brother I demand to know. 

‘‘ Then you shall know,^’ Dianne replied, drawing herself 
up proudly. His name is Eeginald Prentiss.'’^ 

Gasparde staggered as if she had shot him. His face 
became purple with passion, and he clinched his hands so 
tightly that his nails dug into his palms, as he shouted: 

‘‘ Why, I hate that man above any other on the face of 
the earthr^ 

“ I know it,^^ she answered, calmly; “ I was his moth- 
er’s guest, and he came to me and told me all. ” 

“ But perhaps you do not know that he tried to kill me 
by unfair means. ” 

‘‘ On the contrary,” Dianne answered, coldly, “ I have 
heard that you attempted his life in a scoundrelly man- 

}y 


ner. 


DETECTIYE J0HNS02ST OF NEW ORLEANS. 89 

“Scoundrel!’^ roared her brother. “You dare apply 
that word to me? He told you to do it, I presume. 

“ Wrong again. He was altogether too courteous and 
considerate to attempt to prejudice me against my brother. 
No, I got my information elsewhere. 

“ This has gone far enough, said Gasparde more calm- 
ly, but regarding her with a dangerous glitter in his eyes. 
“ You must renounce this Prentiss fellow forever.'’^ 

“ After what has passed between you and him, 1 do not 
expect to marry him,^^ she rejoined, coldly. “ Indeed, 1 
have given up any such idea.^^ 

“ And you must marry Captain Lins’comb at the earli- 
est day possible. 

“ I have already told you that I will not. I repeat it.*’^ 

Gasparde caught her by the wrist and looked searching- 
ly into her eyes. Then, satisfied that her determination 
was not to be shaken, he ran into her room, returning 
with her wrap and hat. 

“ Since you are no longer a sister of mine,^^ he declared, 
coldly, “ you must leave me.^^ 

At this, Dianne turned even paler than before. 

“ Oh, Gasparde, my brother!’^ she wailed, “ 1 — 

“ Silence! Not a word from you!^^ he hissed. “ Here, 
take your things and leave the house at once, for good and^ 
for all.^^ 

“ Oh, Gasparde, do not be so unkind, cried Dianne, 
throwing her arnis around his neck. “ Only let me re- 
main to’ nurse you back to health and then I will go, if 
you wish.^^ 

“ No; now,^^ he replied, briefly. 


90 


DETECTIVE JOHlSrSON OF NEW ORLEANS. 


“ But who will look after you?’^ she pleaded. 

“ Friends whom 1 can trust are safer than a sister whom 
I can not/^ he said, cruelly. 

Without another word Dianne snatched her wrap and 
bonnet, rushed into the hall-way and rapidly descended the 
stairs to the street door. 

‘‘ Go to your lover shouted Gasparde over the balus- 
trade. “ And give him warning that I intend to kill him 
in forty-eight hours, by fair means or foul!^^ 





i. 


DETECTIVE JOHNSON OE NEW OKLEANS. 


91 


CHAPTEE IX. 

A HAVEN AMONG EEIENDS. 

Dianne hurried into the street with her orother^s pas- 
sionate words ringing in her ears. 

It was not so much his words, though, as the tone in 
which they were delivered that rankled through her brain. 

Her head was in such a whirl that it was some time be- 
fore she could realize anything more than the bare signifi- 
cance of that which had just happened — that they were 
parted forever, she and her brother, for the reason that 
she could not bring herself to receive the addresses of a man 
whom she had seen but once, yet whom she detested with 
an instinctive loathing. 

She had not gone far when a sudden dizziness compelled 
her to sit down on a step in the nearest door- way. 

Dianne pressed her cold fingers against her throbbing 
temples, and endeavored to think rationally. 

What should she do? Where should she go? 

Alone now and seemingly an outcast in a great city, the 
course she could or should pursue did not seem very clear. 

One thing she realized, however. 

She must find at least a temporary place of shelter, and 
that at once. 

Night was coming on fast, and she dared not remain 
much longer on the streets, where she feared she would 
only expose herself to insult, perhaps violence. 


92 


DETECTIVE JOHl^SOET OE KEW ORLEAI^'S. 


From going to a hotel she shrunk instinctively. To go 
to a large public-house alone and unattended, would, she 
knew, subject her to suspicion, and, possibly, to as much 
insult as if she were wandering about the streets. 

Yet what could she do? 

Her brother's doors she realized fully were closed against 
her, save on terms against which her whole woman’s nat- 
ure rebelled. 

To a hotel, then, she must look for shelter. Be the idea 
ever so disagreeable and distasteful to her, she shuddered 
at the thought of remaining in the street any longer. 

But where should she go? 

Hoping for inspiration of some sort, or the discovery of 
a suitable hotel near at hand, she arose from the step and 
endeavored to walk resolutely away. 

Despite her endeavor, however, the poor girl faltered 
and tottered, until she feared that some passing policeman 
would espy her and arrest her for drunkenness. 

And then another truth, and an appalling one in her 
case, dawned upon her. She had left her purse behind 
her and had not even enough money with her to purchase 
a supper. 

Alone, friendless, and moneyless! 

Oh, what shall I do?’^ she moaned, despairingly, lean- 
ing against the side of a building at the corner of the 
street. 

Night had now descended, and the city was wrapped in 
a darkness that was relieved only here and there by the 
feeble and fitful glimmer of a street-lamp. 

The few passers-by in that little thoroughfare glanced 


/ 


DETECTIVE JOHKSOlSr OF NEW ORLEANS. 93' 

curiously, some suspiciously, at the well-dressed young 
woman who stood there in that attitude of despair, but 
none of them questioned her nor asked if they could be of 
assistance, and Dianne was grateful for their silence. 

Suddenly she became aware that some one had passed 
by her side, and she heard a shrill voice say: 

“ Fse foun^ yo^. Missy Dan, an^ l^se powerful glad, I 
is!^^ 

There was something very familiar in the tones, and 
looking around, Dianne saw the upturned, eager face of 
the mulatto girl, Jennie. 

“ I^se powerful glad I^se foun^ yo%^^ reiterated the lat- 
ter. 

Dianne was surprised at the girFs appearance and puz- 
zled over the other^s evident attempt to find her where- 
abouts. 

Did my brother send you to find me, Jennie?^’ she 
asked. ^ 

‘^TVho? Massar Gaspar^? No ^ndeedy. He’s too 
powerful mean, he is, a reg’lar no ’count, and I’se glad 
yo’ done left him, I is.” 

Hush, Jennie; you do not know what you are say- 
ing,” rejoined Dianne. ‘‘But tell me, who sent you, if 
he did not?” 

“ Eeck’n nobody didn’ sen’ me. Jess kem myself, an’ 
I’se pow-powerf ul glad to fin’ yo’. ” 

Dianne was mystified at the singular conduct of the 
mulatto girl, as well she might be, but the latter soon 
recollected her mission, and ran on glibly: 

“ 1 wor in yo’ bedroom, Missy Dan’, when 1 heah yo’ 


94 DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW ORLEANS. 

no ’count brudder tell yo’ git out^ and nebber show yo’ 
face agin. Den 1 heah yo^ go^ an’ I done see dat yo’ lef’ 
yo’ money bellin’, an’ I jest watch my chance to slip down 
de stairs and follow yo’.” 

“ My purse, did you say?” exclaimed Dianne. “ Give 
it to me at once, and I will reward you for your thought- 
fulness.” 

Jennie handed the purse to Dianne, and, resolutely hold- 
ing her hands as far behind her back as she could to avoid 
any chance of Dianne’s slipping the promised reward into 
her hands, the mulatto girl breathlessly continued: 

‘‘Dat white debbil wid de brack soul, Mass’r Gaspar’, 
he done see me a-tryin’ ter sneak down de stahs, an’ I’se 
afraid he gwine ter stop me, but he jess scowl a scowl as 
brack as de debbil hisself, an’ say somethin’ ugly, an’ 1 jess 
floo ter de street as fas’ as eber I could.” 

“ You have done me a great service, Jennie,” said 
Dianne, deeply touched by the slave-girl’s fidelity in her 
hour of need. “ 1 should have been lost indeed without 
this money, and you must let me give you this five-dollar 
bill for yourself.” 

“No, no. Missy Dan’,” protested the girl, drawing her- 
self from the pro He red money, as if she feared it would 
contaminate her. “ No, no. Missy Dan’, yo’ need it all, 
an’ 1 isn’t allowed ter hab no money anyway.” 

Dianne persisted, but the mulatto was resolute in her 
refusal to take the money. 

“ I doaii’ want it,” she declared, “but I’se gwine stick 
ter yo’ till I see yo’ hab a place ter stay.” 


DETECTIVE JOHN'SON OF NEW OKLEANS. 


95 


But you will get yourself into trouble if you stay too 
long away from the house/^ urged Dianne. 

“ De missus done say dat you^se a pufPec^ lady, an^ she 
doan^ git mad when 1 tell her whar l^se bin, I reckon. 

The girl was so determined that Dianne found it useless 
to remonstrate against the proffered service. Indeed, she 
was very glad to avail herself of the girDs assistance. 

‘‘ Whar is yo^ gwine to?’^ Jennie demanded. 

“ 1 don’t know,” Dianne returned, slowly. “ To some 
hotel, 1 suppose. But 1 donT know which one.” 

“ HasnT yo^ got no frens yo’ kin stop wid?” queried 
Jennie, sympathetically. 

“ No, not one in New Orleans. Yes, I have, though,” 
Dianne exclaimed, eagerly. “1 have friends whom I 
havenT seen in years, but I am sure they will gladly shel- 
ter me for a little while at least, that is, if they are still 
living here.” 

“ Dat^s w^at you^se better do, den,” Jennie sagaciously 
observed. “ Yo^ wait right here. Missy Dan^; I^se gwine 
ter fin^ yo^ a kerridge. ” 

“Not just yet, Jennie. I must see a directory first, and 
find out where these friends live.” 

They walked along together until they came to a drug- 
store, where Dianne consulted a directory and found the 
address of Major and Mrs. Delaporte. 

Jennie quickly found a cab, and saw Dianne comforta- 
bly ensconced therein, after the driver had been directed 
where to go. 

“ Now, run home, Jennie, before your mistress misses 
you, and God bless you!” was Dianne^s parting salutation. 


96 


DETECTIVE JOHKSOK OF NEW ORLEA'N’S. 


The mulatto caught Dianne^s hand, imprinted a fervent 
kiss upon it, and then turned and ran down the street as 
fast as her short legs would carry her. 

The driver closed the door with a bang, jumped upon 
his seat, and the cab rolled away. 

Dianne had now more time to reflect upon what her fut- 
ure course should be. 

‘‘ Fortunately, I have over three hundred dollars in 
here,^^ she said, squeezing the well-filled little purse tight- 
ly, “1 can at least thank Gasparde for having always 
been liberal in the matter of my allowance. If this were 
his money, I should not feel so free to use it; but he is the 
guardian of that which belongs to me in my own right, 
and I can use this money with a full conscience. 

The cab rattled rapidly through the streets, and, in a 
short space of time, it paused before a large and comforta- 
ble mansion on Euggles Street. 

“ This is the place, miss,^^ said the driver, opening the 
door and helping her to alight. 

Dianne paid the cabman, and then ascended the steps. 

On the door-plate was the name of Delaporte, and she 
pulled the bell. 

A colored servant came to the door, and, when Dianne 
asked for his mistress, she was shown into^ a little recep- 
tion-room. 

The door opened a few minutes later, and a stout, pleas- 
ant-looking woman of middle age entered. 

“ You wish to see me?^^ she inquired, and then a look 
of recognition came into her eyes. 

“ Why, I really believe you are Geraldine^s child ex- 


DETECTIVE JOHISTSON OE KEW ORLEANS. 


97 


claimed Mrs. Delaporte, rushing forward, with both hands 
extended. 

I am Dianne Lorraine. 

“ 1 was sure of it/^ returned Mrs. Delaporte, effusively. 
“You are the image of your poor, dear mother, and I am 
delighted to see you, my dear, after so many years. 

The motherly woman kissed Dianne affectionately on 
both cheeks, and then assisted her to remove her wraps. 

“ Now I shall not ask you a single question, or say an- 
other word until I see you eating your dinner, said Mrs. 
Delaporte, decisively. “ The major and 1 dine late, you 
know, and really we must not keep the poor, dear man 
waiting another moment; he will be famished, and I am 
sure you must be. 

“But 1 am not in a suitable costume, objected 
Dianne. 

“ Costume? Fie! You are looking charming in every 
way, my dear girl, and the major will be enraptured over 
this relief from the tedium of the evening. Come right 
in, my dear; we are dining alone. 

And, without waiting for further remonstrance, her 
kind hostess led Dianne into the dining-room and triumph- 
antly introduced her to Major Delaporte. 

The latter was a tall, broad-shouldered, vigorous-looking 
man in the full prime of life. With ready and convinc- 
ing courtesy he bade the girl to be seated, and made the two 
waiters bestir themselves with so much alacrity that Dianne, 
almost before she realized it, was partaking of a famous 
dinner, and answering her hostesses questions with an en- 
tire absence of reserve. 

4 


98 


DETECTIVE JOHNSOl^ OF KEW OKLEANS. 


“ So you have quarreled with your brother^ my dear/^ 
observed Mrs. Delaporte, when she had drawn Dianne’s 
story out. “ Well, I can remember you as a little girl, 
and you were always amiability and sweetness personified, 
so I am sure it is Gasparde who is in the wrong. Ah, 
what a violent temper he had, as a boy!” 

“ 1 shall be mortally oflended with you if you don’t at 
least pass the winter with us. Miss Lorraine,” the major 
put in, with such kindly decision that Dianne felt at home 
at once. 

Mrs. Delaporte seconded her husband’s wishes with such 
vigor and warmth that Dianne was forced to very grate- 
fully yield, for the time being at least. 

When the meal was over, they left the major to his wine 
and cigars, and went to the parlor, where he joined them 
an. hour later. 

Major Delaporte was a ready and fluent talker, and full 
of fun and anecdote, while his wife was so sympathetic 
and kind that Dianne was put entirely at her ease before 
she had been in the house an hour. 

When she retired that night in the prettily appointed 
chamber prepared for her, Dianne Lorraine felt positively 
happy with her new-found friends, and fell into a slumber 
that was filled with pleasant dreams. 

Meanwhile other events were taking place that evening 
which had much to do with the shaping of her destiny. 

Elsie P^'entiss, by dint of persistent questioning, had 
forced Eeginald to confess the part he had played in the 
departure of Dianne from the Prentiss mansion. 


/ 


r 


DETECTIVE JOHNSON’ OF NEW ORLEANS. 99 


“You knew he was her brother before you left the boat 
that morning, dicln^t you?^^ demanded Elsie. 

“ Yes; what of it?^^ he answered. 

“ Why, you foolish boy,- if you had consulted me, as 
you should have done, this never would have happened. 

“ How could you have helped it?^^ asked Eeginald, per- 
plexedly. 

“ 1 should have succeeded in stopping the duel in some 
way,^^ Elsie replied, with a positiveness that was not to be 
shaken. 

“ Well, 1 am afraid it is all over, and so are all my 
hopes. 

“ You foolish boy, you needn^t sigh in that dolorous 
way. Perhaps 1 can help you out. 

“ If you only could, Elsie! But I don’t see how.’^ 

“ I am going to New Orleans in the morning,” Elsie re- 
sponded, with an air of great determination. 

“ To see Miss Lorraine?” 

“Most assuredly. What else?” 

“But you don’t know where to find her.” 

“ I shall find her, nevertheless.” 

“ And may 1 accompany you?” 

“You? Certainly not, unless you want to spoil every- 
thing. Haven’t you blundered enough already, Eeggy?” 

“ 1 am afraid I have,” admitted that young man, with 
a despondent sigh and a crestfallen air. 

And so it Was settled that Elsie should go to New Or- 
leans by the first train in the morning, a 'pui^use Whidn 
Miss Prentiss carried out without flinching.'^ 



100 DETECTIVE JOHNSON OE NEW OKLEANS. 




CHAPTER X. 

EL SIE ’ S AKKIVAL. 

Elsie reached New Orleans just before noon, and then 
her troubles commenced. 

She had not the remotest idea where to find Dianne, but 
she had set her heart on discovering her whereabouts, and 
the task must be accomplished. 

“ I suppose I might just as well go to a hotel in the 
first place, Elsie concluded, and so entered a cab, and 
was driven to the same house where she and Dianne had 
stayed upon their arrival from St. Paul. 

A light luncheon was partaken of, and then Miss Pren- 
tiss began to deliberate upon the work before her. 

The idea of going to the hospital where Gasparde Lor- 
raine had first been taken occurred to her as the most sen- 
sible thing to do. 

She called a carriage again, and was driven to the hos- 
pital. 

“ Yes, a Mr. Lorraine was here,^^ said the resident phy- 
sician, in answer to her inquiry; “ but he recovered 
enough to be removed. 

This was as Elsie had expected, so she inquired if Mr. 
Lorraine^s present whereabouts were known. 

/ The physician his memorandum-book and copied 

/ an address on a paper which he handed to Miss 

I 

Prentiss. j 

- ’ <' 1 

/ 

/ 


DETECTIVE JOHKSOH OF NEW OKLEAKS. 


101 


“ Unless he has moved, you will find him there. His 
sister is also with him/^ said the resident physician. 

It is his sister I wish to see.^^ 

Elsie said these words with a painfully red face, as the 
thought occurred to her that very likely the man of medi- 
cine imagined she was in search of a recreant lover, in- 
stead of a very dear friend of her own sex. 

In fact, this was just the thought which had come to the 
physician, hut he bowed his fair visitor out, and she en- 
tered the cab again. 

After a few minutes more of riding, she alighted at the 
address given her at the hospital. 

Yes, the landlady informed her that Mr. Lorraine had 
apartments in the house. 

“Will you please send my card up to Miss Lorraine 
asked Elsie. 

“ I — 1 do not think Miss Lorraine is in,^^ stammered 
the woman. 

“ Very well, then, her brother will have to do.^^ 

The landlady looked as if she were about to open her 
mouth, and then, apparently, changed her mind and left 
the room. 

“ Mr. Lorraine says he will be right down, miss,^^ said 
the woman, returning to the parlor presently. 

But then it occurred to Miss Prentiss that she had been 
guilty of a very ill-advised action. 

“ 1 wonder what Eeggy would say to me,^^ she thought. 
“ The idea of my sending my card to a man with whom 
my cousin quarreled and whom he wounded in a duel!^^ 

But the next thought presented her justification. 


f 


102 DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW ORLEANS. 

Of course Ee^^gy knew that if I were coming to New 
Orleans to Dianne I should be more than likely to en- 
counter her brother. But, good heavens! suppose the 
foolish boy had accompanied me, as he wanted to? What 
a scene there would have been when the two men met! 
After all, I don^t see how Eeggy can blame me for what I 
am doing. I am here in his interests. 

f 

Her further reflections were cut short by the entrance of 
a dark, stern-looking young man, who bestowed a frigid 
glance upon her as he crossed the apartment. 

‘‘ Am 1 right in supposing you to be Miss Prentiss?^^ he 
demanded, in a tone that was polite, but frigid. 

“ Yes, 1 am waiting to see Mr. Lorraine/^ she an- 
swered, frightened in spite of herself by the austerity of 
the man who confronted her. 

“ 1 am he. How can I serve you?^^ 

Still that cold, hard tone, and Gasparde seated himself 
a few feet away and looked at her in anything but an en- 
couraging manner. 

“ 1 am here to ascertain if you know the present where- 
abouts, of your sister, Dianne. Probably you know that 
she is my dearest friend. 

Gasparde Lorraine heard her patiently through, and 
then answered, simply: 

“ 1 know nothing of her whereabouts.'’^ 

Oh, very well, thank you,f^ said Elsie, rising with 
great dignity. 

“ One moment, please. Miss Prentiss. Do not miscon- 
strue my words into a slight or an insult. If I could serve 


DETECTIVE JOHKSOJST OE NEW ORLEANS. 


103 


you in this matter, 1 would do so, but 1 really haven’t the 
faintest idea where my sister is.” 

“ Can you tell me how soon you are likely to know?” 

“ Eeally, that is impossible. Miss Lorraine and 1 have 
had a difference of opinion, and I have no reason to hope 
that I shall see her again in the near future,” 

Elsie was dumfounded, but she managed to thank him 
for the information, and took her departure. Gasparde 
followed her to the door, and bowed her out with studied 
frigidity. 

Elsie was about to enter the cab again, when she heard 
a shrill voice pipe out: 

“ Wait a bit, missy. I’ll be dar direckly.” 

And looking up, Elsie saw, to her astonishment, a little 
woolly head protruding from one of the windows. 

Eager to get information from any source, Elsie waited 
patiently. 

The mulatto girl, Jennie, soon reached the sidewalk and 
said: 

“ Missus done tole me yo’ was lookin’ fo’ Missy Dan. 
Dat debbil ob a brudder ob hern kain’t tell yo’ nuthin’.” 

. “ Can you?” queried Elsie, eagerly. 

“ Eeck’n I kin, missy.” 

“ Where is she? Tell me quickly!” 

“ On Euggles Street, missy.” 

‘‘Yes, yes; what house?” 

“ I done t’ink de family call Delap ’ot.” 

“ Delaporte, you mean?” 

“ Yes, missy; dat’s de name.” 


104 DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW ORLEANS. 

Elsie slipped a coin in the girl’s hand, directed the 
driver, and hastily entered the cab again. 

In a few minutes she found herself waiting for Dianne, 
in the cosy reception-room of the Delaporte mansion. 

Miss Lorraine did not keep her old school friend waiting 
long. 

The two girls flew to meet each other half way. There 
was a warm embrace, and then explanations were in order. 

“ How did you come to call upon me, and how did you 
know where to find me?” Dianne asked. 

“ A mulatto girl in the house where your brother has 

rooms told me where to find you; and 1 came because 1 

have at last succeeded in getting Reginald to confess his 

part in such a shameful affair.” 

♦» 

“ Hush!” interrupted Dianne, with dignity. “ 1 am 
compelled, from all I have heard of the affair, to believe 
that Mr. Prentiss distinguished himself by much more 
gentlemanly conduct than did my brother.” 

Elsie was silent, knowing well that this was no time for 
her to be too voluble. 

Did — did you — ” Dianne began. 

“ Did my cousin send me to you?” returned Elsie, 
divining her friend’s meaning. No, dear, I came my- 
self, and on my own account. I don’t want any estrange- 
ment between you and me. ” 

Never fear that,” replied Miss Lorraine, gently, and 
then added: 

“ Of course you know by this time that I have separated 
from my brother?” 

“ Yes,” answered Elsie, who was dying to know if the 


DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF KEW ORLEAKS. 


105 


details of the quarrel presaged favorably for Eeginald^s 
cause. 

Dianne, who had no secrets from her bosom friend, pro- 
ceeded to tell her all about it. 

‘‘And do you know,^^ she added, “my brother at- 
tributed my refusal to see that brute Linscomb to a 
stronger feeling on my part for Mr. Prentiss.'^ 

“ Indeed queried Elsie, who was secretly delighted at 
this information. 

“Yes, dear, and I have something to tell you that I 
really think you ought to know. J ust as I was leaving 
the house Gasparde bellowed down the steps that he would 
find my ‘ lover, ^ as he termed Mr. Prentiss, and take his 
life.^" 

“Oh, pshaw exclaimed Elsie, forgetting her words,, 
in her own strong faith in her cousin. “ Keginald is nO) 
baby. 1 have heard his friends say that it would be diffi- 
cult indeed to find a finer swordsman or more deadly shot, 
in the whole South. 

“Gasparde is very deadly 'in his hatreds, returned 
Dianne, slowly, “and has taken part in at least half a 
dozen duels which had fatal terminations.^^ 

“ But,’^ Elsie objected, “ Eeggy has already shown that 
he can take care of himself where your brother is con- 
cerned. Forgive me, Dianne, for reminding you of this, 
but I want you to feel sure of Eeggy^s safety. And he 
will not kill Gasparde, either; depend upon that. He has 
already had the opportunity, and refused. He would 
never do it, Dianne; for your sake he would not.'’’ 

“ Your cousin is ?}9ble MJow, indeed,” admitted 


106 DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW ORLEANS. 

Dianne, sorrowfully. “ Oh, that this had never hap- 
pened!^’ 

It will all come out right in the end,’’ predicted Elsie, 
confidently. “ When it does — for I am sure it must — I 
shall be happy indeed, dear, with you for my cousin.” 

But Dianne shook her head positively. 

“ It can never be, Elsie. I know that Mr. Prentiss has 
honored me with his love; he has told me so, and I esteem 
him very highly for his qualities. But there is a stain of 
blood between us, and he and 1 must be strangers here- 
after.” 

Elsie did not altogether wonder at these feelings, and 
she was altogether too sensible to urge Eeginald’s justifi- 
cation upon her friend at that moment. 

“ Come to my room, dear,” said Dianne; “ we can talk 
more freely there.” 

So upstairs they went, and in the privacy of Miss Lor- 
raine’s chamber the two girls discussed the affairs nearest 
their hearts for more than an hour. 

“All my possessions are still with my brother,” said 
Dianne, at last. “ 1 need my trunks and what is in them^ 
but how shall 1 get them? After what has passed I do 
not care to encounter Gasparde again.” 

“ Send for your trunks at once,” responded Elsie, 
promptly. “I am sure Mrs. Delaporte will be glad to 
put her coachman at your disposal. ” 

This .advice, after a little hesitation, Dianne decided to 
follow. 

Mrs. Delaporte, when approached, was only too glad to 


DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW ORLEANS. 


107 


aid her guest. She not only placed her carriage at her 
guest^s disposal, but sent her colored maid inside. 

In a little over an hour the carriage returned, with both 
of Manners trunks strapped on in the rear. 

“ Did my brother let you take everything?^^ Miss Lor- 
raine asked of the maid, 

“Yes, missy. 

“ Did he make any objections?^^ 

“No, missy. 

“ Did he have anything at all to say?^^ 

“ Nebber a word, missy, ^cept dis.^^ 

The maid held forth an envelope. 

..It was directed to Dianne, and in her brother's hand- 
writing. 

She snatched it eagerly, and then held it unopened, 
looking significantly at the maid. 

The latter, who was a well-trained domestic, took the 
hint and left the room at once. ^ 

As soon as the girl had gone Dianne tore the envelope 
with feverish eagerness. 

Only a card was found inside. 

Gasparde’s name was engraved on one side, and on the 
reverse he had penciled these words: 

“Good-bye — farewell. 

The card fell from Dianne^s hands, and Elsie reached 
forward to pick it up. As soon as she saw those words, 
she comprehended her friend^s feelings. 

“ Never mind, Dianne darling. You are in the right, 
and everything will come right in the end.^^ 


/ 

108 DETECTIVE JOHKSOK OF NEW ORLEANS. 

‘‘ But he is my brother, my only relative/^ said Dianne, 
falteringly, and he has cast me off forever. I know his 
firmness only too well, and though 1 know myself to be 
right, this is hard to bear.^^ 

“ He will relent, never fear.^^ 

“ If I only could believe so, 1 should not mind this, but 
I repeat that 1 know him too well to hope,^^ returned 
Dianne, with a bitter smile. “ He is the kindest of 

t 

brothers, while he can have his own way, but I have 
crossed his will, and he will never relent, or forgive. 

Elsie strove persistently to comfort and console her 
dearest friend, and to some extent succeeded before din- 
ner. 

J ust before that meal was served hospitable Mrs. Dela- 
porte came to Dianne^s room to receive her second guest. 

>s 

“ You must stay with us several days at least,^^ she said. 
“ Dianne is to be, with us the whole winter — we shall not 
let her go — and you must see her here frequently. 

“ But 1 have a year more to attend the seminary, ob- 
jected Dianne, feebly. 

‘‘ Nonsense, responded Mrs. Delaporte, energetically. 
“You are already a woman, and must have done with 
childhood. 

They went down to dinner with that question still un- 

t 

settled. 

The major was in his jolliest mood, and he and his ami- 
able wife dispelled the gloomy spirits of their guests, and, 
for the time being, made them thoroughly happy. 

But a cloud was gathering over Dianne Lorraine’s head, 
of which her friends little dreamed. 


DETECTIVE JOHNSOII OF KEW ORLEAKS. 


109 


CHAPTEE XL 

TWO CONSPIRATORS GET THEIR HEADS TOGETHER. 

At the time with which this narrative has to deal the 
Pelican Club was one of the most prosperous clubs in New 
Orleans, though not one of the most pretentious. 

It was a second rate resort for young men about town 
and the scions of many of the “ best families in the city 
were enrolled upon its list of membership. Though not 
famous for its cuisine or wines, the Pelican was noted for 
two things — the excellence of its “ hard liquors and the 
exciting game which was sure to be in progress at all ex- 
cept a very few of the twenty-four hours. 

But, for once, we find it in the afternoon in a quiescent 
state. 

Captain Harvey Linscomb was the only member of note 
present. 

He was a short, thick-set man of apparently about forty 
years of age, with a sensual and bloated face and all the 
other evidences of a life of liberal self-indulgence. 

He had been drinking heavily, for an ordinary man, but 
the liquor seemed to have but little effect upon him. In- 
deed, it was a matter of common remark that, if he were 
thrown into the same quantity of whisky which he con- 
sumed daily, his chance of escaping drowning would be 
small. 

Captain Linscomb was the sole survivor ot an old family 


110 DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW ORLEANS. 


V, 


V 


V. 


that had once been prominent and honored in Louisiana^ 
but he had sadly digressed from the ways of his ancestors. 


When he first came into possession of the family 
property it had amounted to a considerable fortune. J ust 
how much of this he still possessed no one knew. 

He had the reputation of being very successful at the 
card- table, and was known to always have enough money 
for his needs, for which reason he was accepted as a very 
agreeable companion at the Pelican. 


Another fact which made him both respected and fearea 
by most of his fellow-members was his record as a duelist. 
He had been concerned in a half score “ affairs of honor, 
and never had his opponent been known to leave the field 
alive. 

Linscomb was leaning back in an easy-chair near a 
large, low window, opening out upon the street, and at his 
side sat a young planter named Peyton. 

“ You don^t play very well, that^s a fact,^’ the captain 
was saying to his companion. 

“ It's no use to play against you, at any time," protest- 
ed Peyton. “ One would think you in league with the 
devil himself, you have such marvelous luck." 


“ Eh?" growled Linscomb, “ what's that about the 
devil?" 

“No offense, I assure you," was the quick response. 
“ 1 merely meant that }^our luck is so great that it is inex- 
plicable. " 

“ Do you mean to insinuate that I cheat?" demanded 
the captain, with a savage oath. 


DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW OBLEA.NS. 


Ill 


‘^Nothing was further from my thoughts^ on my 
honor/^ protested Peyton, paling slightly. 

It was plain that Linscomb was either in a quarrelsome 
mood, or else had a deeper reason for bullying the young 
planter. 

“ Bah! What was it you lost to me last night?^^ quer- 
ied the captain. 

“ Nothing, of course. A mere bagatelle — only $1,400. 
But that makes $10,000 I have lost to you inside the last ' 
fortnight. A year of that business would ruin me- 
Eeally, captain, added Peyton, with a laugh that was 
forced, “ you are a luxury from which most men had bet- 
ter abstain. 

Linscomb eyed his victim savagely. 

“ Do you mean to tell me that you refuse to play with 
me in the future?^^ he almost roared. 

“ Oh, by no means, my dear fellow, responded the 
younger man, soothingly. 

‘‘ If I thought you did — began Linscomb. 

But succor had come to the young planter. 

The captain felt a hand laid on his shoulder, and a well- 
known voice inquired: 

“ Quarreling as usual, my dear Harvey? One of these 
(lays you will meet your match, and the Pelican will know 
you 110 more. But come, let us drop nonsense, and have 
a a l ink. 

“ With all my heart,” responded Linscomb, with great 
ptaunpiiicss. “Here, Ben” — to one of the colored at- 
tendants — “ get the steward to let us have a full bottle of 
whisky, quick, and no fooling about it!” 


]12 DETECTIVE Johnson of new Orleans. 

“ Any soda with it, sah?^^ inquired the boy. 

By way of answer the captain threw his cane at the un- 
fortunate Ben, with such an accuracy as to hit that }"oung- 
ster very sharply on the head. 

“ Bring that back to me at once,^^ shouted Linscomb, 
and Ben returned with the stick as he came. 

“ Don’t you know yet that I never take anything with 
my whisky?” demanded the captain, applying the restored 
stick sharply about the darky’s legs. 

“ I done fought p’raps de odder gen’leman like soda 
wid his,” blubbered Ben, getting out of the way of the 
cane^j and forthwith departing on his errand. 

The liquor was brought and placed on a table between 
the men. 

“ Well, how are things going, Gasparde?” inquired 
Linscomb, ulling his own glass and passing the bottle. 

“ Poorly,” was Lorraine’s answer— for the new-corner 
was he — “poorly. We must make up our minds to act 
more resolutely, or we shall not succeed.” 

Here Lorraine paused and cast a glance at Peyton, with 
such a significant look at the captain that the latter took 
the hint and said, brusquely: 

“We wish to be alone, Peyton.” 

The young planter nodded ready acquiescence, and 
drank the whisky which he had poured out for himself 
with such haste that he coughed repeatedly and nearly 
strangled. 

“ Now, what have you got to tell me?” inquired Lins- 
conib, as soon as Peyton had betaken himself out of hear- 
ing. 


DETECTIVE JOHKSON OF ]STEW OKLEAKS. 


113 


“ Nothing very encouraging/^ replied Lorraine, cross- 
ing his legs and lighting a cigar. 

‘‘ You said last night the girl had left the house. 

“ So she did.^^ 

“ And hasn^t returned yet?^^ 

“ Hadn^t up to a half an hour ago.^^ 

“ That^s devilish bad/^ muttered Linscomb, adding a 
string of unprintable oaths. 

“ Any idea where she is now?^^ queried the captain, 
when he had exhausted his ready stock of expletives. 

“ No, but I heard from her yesterday, though 1 didn^t 
tell you so.^^ 

“ How?^^ 

“ A coachman and maid came after her things. 

“ And didn^t they tell you where she was?^^ 

‘‘ Not a word.^^ 

“ Why the devil didn^t you ask them, then.^^^ 

“ Because they would have been sure to tell Dianne, and 
I donH want her to think I even care about her where- 
abouts. The less interested I appear, the quicker she will 
tire of her freak, and want to come into my good graces 
again. 

“ Tou\e got the right idea, by Jove!^^ assured the cap- 
tain, nodding approvingly. 

“ I even went further in my little game,'^’ Lorraine re- 
sumed. “ I wrote ‘ good-bye ^ on the back of my card, 
and sent it to her with her baggage.^^ 

“ I^m not so sure that was wise,^^ returned Linscomb, 
shaking his head dubiously. “ You see, my dear boy, if 
the girl has a bit of pride — and, if she hasn't, she isn't fit 


114 DETECTIVE JOHNSON OJ- NEW ORLEANS. 

to be my wife — she won’t come back to you so readily after 
getting a direct cut of that sort.” 

“ She must come back, she must do as I want,” re- 
turned Lorraine, resolutely, compressing his lips with de- 
cision. 

“ Why are you so anxious to have me marry her?” in- 
quired Linscomb, looking at his companion searchingly. 

“ Why are you anxious to marry her?” returned Lor- 
raine. 

“ Because,” returned the captain, with an easy laugh, 
‘‘ because she is about the prettiest and most wholesome 
girl 1 ever saw in my life, and I am just about of a good 
marriageable age, too. Besides that, I can take good care 
of a wife, and flatter myself I would make a very fair sort 
of husband. I — ” 

Lorraine interrupted his friend with a loud, harsh laugh. 

“ Spare me the recital of your many virtues as a hus- 
band,” he said, impatiently. “ Did you know that 
Dianne is worth three hundred thousand dollars in her 
own name?” 

“ No — is she?” questioned the captain, with an attempt 
to look indifferent. 

But the look of avarice which crept into his eyes 
showed itself too plainly for concealment. 

Lorraine laughed discordantly again, and went on: 

“ Of course you know it, Linscomb. If you said you 
had imagined her to be a poor girl, I should not believe 
you. Now, she is worth three hundred thousand dollars 
the day she becomes of age or gets married. Do you un. 
derstand me now?^^ 


DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW ORLEANS. 115 


“ I think I do. You are her guardian?^^ 

“ And by marrying your sister to me you can thus place 
three hundred thousand dollars in my hands. 

“ That^s the size of it, Linscomb.^^ 

Gasparde Lorraine leaned back in his chair and studied 
the other^s face intently. 

You aren^t doing this out of pure friendship?^^ de- 
manded Captain Linscomb, after a few moment’s pause. 
“Not altogether, but largely so.” 

“ You want a return of some kind, 1 suppose.” 

“ Certainly.” 

“ Let me see if I understand you,” rejoined Captain 
Linscomb, leaning forward, and looking very intently 
into Lorraine’s eyes. He spoke in very low tones as he 
went on: 

“ You propose to induce your sister to marry me. 
Now, with her, 1 get a snug little fortune of three hun- 
dred thousand dollars. You, as her guardian, can so ar- 
range matters that I can control the entire sum. You 
need money, or at all events, want it — which is the same 
thing — and you look to me to marry your sister, and then 
give you a share of the handsome little purse which she 
brings me. Do I understand you rightly?” 

Gasparde assented. 

“ Then,” resumed Linscomb, “ the only question that 
remains is. How much do you want?” 

“Just an even half,” returned Lorraine, meeting the 
other’s eye squarely. 

Linscomb let loose a string of oaths. 


116 DETECTIVE JOHKSOH OF NEW OKLEANS. 

‘‘You might as well ask for the whole, Lorraine. You 
want too much. 

“ You get one hundred and fifty thousand and one of 
the finest-looking women in the South/^ retorted Gas- 
parde, coolly. 

“ That^s very true, but you want too much for your 
share. 

“ You get the girl and half her money if you help me as 
1 wish. Without my help you get neither the girl nor the 
money. 

/ 

This was a very forcible way of putting it, and had the 
effect of making Captain Linscomb reconsider. 

“ 1 consent to your terms, my dear Gasparde,^^ he an- 
nounced, after a little refiection. 

Gasparde grasped him by the hand. 

“ Assure me on your word of honor,^^ he said. 

“ I promise you upon my word of honor that I accept 
your terms, and will carry them out,^^ replied Captain 
Linscomb very soberly. 

How lightly any honest man, who had overheard their 
dialogue, would esteem their word of honor probably did 
not occur to either of this precious pair of rascals. 

“We must strike while the iron is hot; in other words, 
we must lose no time until the job is done,’^ Lorraine de- 
clared. 

“ What shall we do first, then?^^ 

“ Well, first of all, if Dianne doesnT come back to-day, 
we must find out where she is.^^ 


“ Quite so,^^ assented Linscomb. 


DETECTIVE JOHKSOI^ OF NEW ORLEANS. 117 


“ And when we do find her whereabouts/’ resumed 
Lorraine, drawing his chair very close to that of his com- 
panion, “ we must contrive to spirit her away.” 

“ Too summary, altogether too summary,” objected 
Linscomb. “If we act like ruffians we shall force the 
girl into a corner, and she will turn upon us and upset our 
little game. Try to think of something better.” 

“ You didn’t wait for me to finish,” retorted Gasparde, 
calmly; “ we’ll have her stolen and carried off to some 
dirty hole, on a pretense of wanting to rob her of her jew- 
elry. Then, my dear captain, I will go to the house where 
she will have been stopping and inquire for her. I will 
tell the people there how penitent 1 am for. quarreling with 
her, and entreat them to let me see her. 

“ Superb!” laughed the captain; “ go on.” 

“ Of course they will tell me that she has disappeared,’^ 
resumed Lorraine. “ Of course 1 shall be distracted at 
the news, will suspect foul play, etc. Then you and I will 
search the city despairingly, and you shall rescue her, my 
dear captain. A week’s confinement in some wretched 
place will humble her spirit, and your heroic rescue ought 
to complete the conquest.” 

“ Excellent!” commented the captain, with considerable 
enthusiasm. “But suppose she refuses to believe my 
heroism genuine? She may even see through the whole 
scheme. ” 

“ If she does,” retorted Gasparde, dryly, “ then she 
will see, this sister of mine, that you and I are two men 
who are not to be baffled, and she will sensibly give in to 


118 DETECTIVE JOHKSOIf OF Is^EW ORLEANS. 


“You are a born campaigner T’ declared the captain, 
enthusiastically. “ Let us begin business at once."^^ 

“We must first find out where this perverse girl is being 
sheltered from me.^’ 

“ Exactly, assented the captain. 

The two rascals arose and marched arm in arm out of 
the club. 


i 


DETECTIVE JOHIISON OF NEW ORLEANS. 119 


CHAPTER XII. 

FIRST STEP OF THE CONSPIRACY. 

Dianne stood in the vestibule, attired for the street. 

The last light of the day was fading, but there was still 
a mellow, western horizon. 

Going for a walk, dear?^^ 

Elsie had come upon her in the vestibule. 

Without waiting for a reply. Miss Prentiss ran on. 

“ Wait a minute, dear, until 1 get on my wraps. 

But this Dianne knew was a sacrifice on her friend^s 
part. Elsie had complained of feeling tired and wretched 
all day. Miss Lorraine would not listen to her proposal. 

No, dear, I shall be back early, and will come to your 
room before we have to dress for dinner. 

With which words Dianne sp^ down the steps and was 
our of sight around the corner. 

Walking rapidly on, Dianne^s brain was filled with an 
active current of thoughts. 

Her estrangement from her brother she was beginning 
to regard with great indifference. With the consciousness 
of outraged dignity she now cared little how long it was 
before she saw him again. 

At the same time another consciousness was forcing 
itself upon her. Pleasant or unpleasant, it was a fact that 
Elsie’s face served every hour of the day to suggest a face 
which she had seen before and longed to see again. 


120 DETECTIVE JOHNSOK OF NEW ORLEANS. 

Yes, it was really true that Dianne, in spite of what 
had happened, in spite of all her scorn on leaving him, 
was absorbed by a longing to behold Eeginald Prentiss 
again. 

That she was prepared to let him bridge over the gulf 
which lay between them is not so certain, for Dianne Lor- 
raine was richly endowed with family and sectional pride, 
and could not so easily accept the love of a man who had 
fought her brother, whatever the circumstances might 
have been. 

Yet the fact remained that, with her, Eeginald was the 
highest type of a hero she had ever discovered. 

He was courteous, chivalrous, generous, noble, and, al- 
though it is not certain whether she would have shown him 
the least cordiality, yet Dianne was absorbed by a desire to 
once more behold her ideal. 

That she could easily do so by making her feelings 
known to Elsie, Dianne well understood, but she was too 
proud to confess to the longing, and altogether too uncer- 
tain how she should treat him after all. 

All these thoughts passed through Dianne Lorraine’s 
head as she walked rapidly along. 

Where she was going she had little idea, but the air was 
cool and bracing, and the brisk walk made her feel more 
at ease. Though she had not the least idea of meeting 
Eeginald Prentiss in New Orleans, she nevertheless gazed 
as keenly as she dared at all passers-by. 

After half an hour’s brisk walk, it occurred suddenly to 
Dianne that she must retrace her steps and hurry back to 
the Delaporte mansion if she would be in time for dinner. 


DETECTIVE JOHKSOH OF NEW ORLEANS. 


121 


She had thus far paid no attention to the direction or 
the neighborhood in which she had been walking, and now, 
as she looked about her, she gave a frightened little gasp. 

The houses were low and squalid looking; the ^leople 
passing her on the street were of the most mongrel de- 
scription. 

Knowing that her watch, her jewelry and her purse 
would prove a rich prize to evil-minded and covetous peo- 
ple, Dianne gazed about her in a really frightened manner. 

What was the best way out of the neighborhood, she 
wondered. By what route could she return to a more re- 
spectable portion of the city and excite the least comment? 

As if in answer to her quandary, she preceived that a 
closed carriage, evidently a private vehicle, was slowly fol- 
lowing her down the street. 

As it came nearer Dianne saw that there was both a 
white man and a negro on the box, which gave her an 
added sense of security. 

Dianne thought the driver must have divined her pur- 
pose, for the carriage drove up to the sidewalk near her, 
and the white man alighted, touching his cap to her defer- 
entially. 

‘‘ Do you want a cab, lady?^^ he asked, throwing open 
the door invitingly. 

‘‘ You are just in time,^^ she answered, eagerly. 

Had Dianne studied the man^s face at all, she might 
have seen a look of evil importunity in his eyes that would 
not have pleased her. 

But the relief of finding so opportune an avenue of 
escape from the suspicious neighborhood into which she 


122 


DETECTIVE JOHilSOI^ OF NEW ORLEANS. 


had wandered was the only sensation of which she was con- 
scious. 

“ Drive to Major Delaporte^s house, Euggles Street/^ 
she said, and entering the carriage, sunk on to the cushions 
of the rear seat. 

You hear, Pomp?^^ demanded the man who had 
opened the door. There was mockery in his tones, but 
Dianne did not hear it, or else did not notice it. 

“ I heah, mas^r,^^ was the negroes grinning response, as 
he gathered the reins. 

All right, then; o£E we gp!’^ 

The carriage started away, and as it did so the door was 
banged suddenly to and Dianne found the white man on 
the seat at her side. 

Almost before this fact impressed itself upon her startled 
mind, she noticed that her unknown companion was pull- 
ing down the curtains as if to conceal his proceedings from 
the street. 

Dianne, though very much frightened, quietly reached 
for the door-handle. She grasped it, but found to her sur- 
prise she could not make the door swing open. 

It was so dark inside the carriage with the curtains drawn 
that the man could not see what she was doing. He must 
have divined it, however, for he reached over and forced 
her hand away from the knob. 

“ It’s no use, lady,^^ he said, doggedly. “ The door^s 
fastened all right, an^ I reckon you ainT goin^ to git out 
till I says so.^^ 

‘‘You have no right to keep me in here. This is an 
outrage,’^ protested Dianne, indignantly. 


DETECTIVE JOHNSOl^ OF KEW ORLEANS. 


123 


“ Sho! You don^t say so/^ was the coarse rejoinder, 
accompanied by a brutal laugh. 

Let me out!^^ shrieked Dianne. 

“ Can^t do it, ladj%^^ responded the other, doggedly. 

t 

“You shall,^^ she answered, tearfully, but she realized 
her utter helplessness. 

“ Now, keep quiet, urged her unknown and unseen 
companion. 

1 have a brother and friends who will think your life 
none too large a price for this outrage, she declared, 
angrily. 

The man seemed amused at this, for he laughed uproar- 
iously in a coarse, brutal way, that grated on the nerves of 
the sensitive girl beside him. 

“I donT reckon they^ll never know nothin^ about it,^^ 
he replied after awhile. 

Dianne^s heart sunk within her. 

Did he, then, mean to murder her? 

“Where are you taking me?^^ she asked, less firmly 
than before. 

“ To a place where you will be treated like a queen if 
you only pays for it.""^ 

Perhaps, then, he only meant to rob her, after all. 

“ You want the valuables I have with me?^^ she 
queried. 

“ That^s jest it, lady.-^^ 

“ And after you have them, what then?^^ 

“ You’ll know that later,” was the non-committal res- 
ponse. 

Dianne’s heart sunk again. 


124 DETECTIVE JOHNSON OE NEW ORLEANS. 

Yet she resolved to make one more attempt at escape. 

Taking a deep breath, she shouted, with all the power of 
her lungs: 

‘‘Police! help! murder !^^ 

“ Oh, that^s all right, was her companion's cheerful 
rejoinder, and he did not a^ttempt to binder her. “ Yell 
all yo’ want,^’ he went on. “ The wheels is makin^ so 
much noise that no one wonT hear yo\«^ 

This, Dianne realized, was only too true. The carriage 
was rolling and clattering along at a terrific rate, and the 
noise of the wheels on the pavements was almost deafen- 
ing. 

She must think of some means of escape. 

This was not long in presenting itself. 

“ Let me go,^^ she said, appealingly, “ and 1 will give 
you my watch, jewels and money. 1 will also promise you 
that I will say a word about it to no one.^^ 

“ Sorry, but 1 can’t accommodate you,’^ was the prompt 
, and disheartening response. “ I\e known ladies to make 
sech promises before, and then forgit all about ^em when 
they got away. 

Dianne was silent after that. 

Oh! that she had some kind of a weapon about her, 
even a penknife. She would have sprung upon the fiend 
beside her and made short work of him. 

The man, too, was silent, but he lifted the curtain a lit- 
tle from time to time and peered outside. 

“ We’re gitting near home,” he announced at last, and 
then Dianne felt— for she could not see — that he was feel- 
ing for something in his pockets. 


DETECTIVE JOHNSOil OF KEW OKLEAlSrS. 125 


When he produced the articles for which he was search- 
ing, she felt that he was shaking something, probably a 
bottle. 

Then a sickening smell arose within the closely confined 
carriage, and she felt a sponge pressed close to her nostrils. 

She made a faint but ineffectual struggle, and then, 
sinking down in his arms, she lost consciousness. 

•y* 

When Dianne came to again she was in total darkness. 

She was lying on something soft, which, upon investiga- 
tion, she found to be a mattress spread upon the floor. 

The apartment was close and stuffy, and the heat and 
lack of ventilation oppressed her in her dizzy condition. 

She was seized with a terrible sickness, and felt too weak 
and feeble to stir at first. 

Gradually, by a strong effort, she gathered strength 
enough to remove her street wraps, which were oppressing 
her in the intolerable stuffiness of the room. 

Her head ached and throbbed violently, but she mus- 
tered strength enough to get upon her feet and start upon 
a tour of investigation. 

The apartment was a small one, and evidently, from 
the abrupt slanting of its walls, next to the roof. 

She found the door and tried it, but it was so securely 
fastened that it did not even rattle under her attempt to 
open it. 

She groped about for a light and matches, but found 
neither. 

Then looking overhead she could faintly discern the sky 


126 DETECTIVE JOHKSOK OF NEW ORLEANS. 

and stars through the smooched and dirty panes of a sky- 
light. 

Oh^ to reach it and get upon the roof, with ever so little 
a possibility of reaching the ground below! 

She groped about her once more, but could find nothing 
on which to stand to reach the skylight. 

Then the dizziness and sickness returned, and she sought 
the mattress again. 

Unconsciousness came on once more, and she was lost in 
deep, dreamless sleep. 

A great mercy to her, indeed. 

When the dinner hour came the inmates of the Dela- 
porte house gathered at the table. 

All except one. 

Where is Dianne?^^. demanded the major, noticing her 
absence at once. 

“ She went out for a walk,^^ Elsie replied, “ and prom- 
ised to come to my room before the dressing time, but 1 
have seen nothing of her."^^ 

A shade of uneasiness came to the major’s face. 

The truth was, the good man had developed, later in 
life, into a pronounced epicure, and the thought of delay- 
ing his most beloved meal preyed upon his patience. 

But when they had waited half an hour impatience gave 
place to vague alarm. 

“ Go to Miss Lorraine’s room and see if she is there,” 
Mrs. Delaporte commanded her colored butler. 

But when the aged servitor returned to the room his 
countenance was anything but reassuring. 


DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW ORLEANS. 127 


“ Missy Dan dar at all/^ he declared. 

‘‘ Is the door unlocked?^^ questioned Mrs. Delaporte. 

“ Yes, ma^am, but dey^s nobody inside. 

Another half hour passed, and still no signs of Dianne. 

“ Let us have dinner as quickly as possible,"'^ said the 
major, “ and then I will go out and try to ascertain what 
has become of her. 

They eat, but it was a gloomy meal and a short one. 
Even the major for once had little appetite. 

When it was over he drew on his top-coat, pressed his 
hat squarely on his head, placed a revolver in his pocket, 
and left the house abruptly. 

But he came back a few hours later, and, learning that 
Dianne had not returned in the meantime, he became 
gloomy and unresponsive, merely admitting that he had 
heard no tidings of her. 

And Elsie, now thoroughly and terribly convinced that 
foul play had overtaken her dear friend, was wrestling 
mentally with a great problem. 

Should she send for Eeginald? 




<5 


12S 


DETECTIYE JOHNSO]S[ OF NEW OELEANS. 


CHAPTEE XIIL 

UNAVAILING SEARCH. 

It was a sleepless night in the Delaporte mansion. 

The major and his wife and Elsie sat up until well into 
the small hours of the morning, but no tidings came of 
Dianne, and when they at last retired it was only to rise 
again with the first indications of the late winter morning. 

Major Delaporte had lost his usual composure and dig- 
nity. looked haggard and worried, and was altogether 
restless. 

As for the ladies, it was easy to see that they had spent 
their retirement in tears. 

An early breakfast was ordered and served. 

The disheartened trio sat down to the repast, but their 
appetites had deserted them, and hardly a morsel of food 
was touched, although the major managed to dispose of 
considerable quantities of cofiee and brandy. 

When he had finished with these stimulants he left the 
room to give some orders, and then rejoined his wife and 
Elsie in the library. 

“ Now tell us, August, all that happened last night,^^ 
began the former lady. 

“ There isn^t much to relate, responded her husband, 
gloomily, “ save a long round of unavailing search. 

“ What steps did you ' take questioned Mme. Dela- 
porte. j 


DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW ORLEANS. 


129 


“ I walked about for some time/’ answered the major, 
“ and then I engaged a carriage. Driving to all the j)o- 
lice stations, I discovered that nothing had been heard of 
such a young lady as I described, although, when 1 report- 
ed her disappearance, the officers promised to do all in 
their power to find her. “ Then I drove to the hospitals 
and investigated all of the accident cases which had come 
in during the day and evening, but still found no traces of 
the dear girl. I next went to look up a good private de- 
tective, but could find none of enough skill to satisfy me. 
1 have just sent the coachman, however, after a couple of 
gentlemen in the secret line, who 1 think will be able to 
help us considerably. ” 

The trio in the library had not waited very long when 
the detectives were announced. 

They were Messrs. Johnson and Farrar, two quiet, ener- 
getic-looking men, whose appearance greatly impressed the 
ladies with confidence in their shrewdness and skill. 

Messrs. Johnson and Farrar listened with great intent- 
ness to the details with which the major provided them, 
interspersed frequently with additions and amplifications 
from Mme. Delaporte and Elsie. 

Both of the detectives asked questions freely, but John- 
son did most of the questioning, and appeared to be the 
senior in point of authority. 

Johnson displayed a habit of biting his finger-nails con- 
stantly, but this did not prevent him from putting all the 
questions he thought necessary, though he did not offer 
any comment upon the facts presented to his notice. 

When it came Elsie’s turn to speak, she thought it best 


130 DETECTIVE JOHKSON OF NEW ORLEANS. 

to tell unreservedly all the details of Dianne^s quarrel with 
her brother, which she did. 

“ 1 know the fellow/^ said Farrar, quietly, when Gas^ 
parde’s name was mentioned. “ He passes for a gentle^ 
man, and no doubt he was born one, but he is a gambler 
and a confirmed duelist, and a tough citizen all around. 

“ Then he will bear watching, said Johnson to his col- 
league, speaking in an undertone, but loud enough for the 
others to hear. 

“ It is barely possible. Major Delaporte, that it is all a 
false alarm, added Johnson. “ The young lady may 
have taken it into her head, for some unaccountable reason, 
to visit friends or relatives, and she may not have had time 
to come back and let you know.^^ 

“ It is hardly possible, murmured Mme. Delaporte. 

It is now a little after eight, Johnson went on, still 
addressing himself to the major, “ and it is nearly time 
for the first mail delivery. You may receive a note from 
Miss Lorraine which will dispel your fears and render our 
services unnecessary.^^ 

This was a forlorn hope, but Dianne^s friends grasped it 
and waited for the mail with all the patience they could 
summon. 

The mail came at last, and in it several letters, but none 
from Dianne. 

“ Then we will get to work at once,^^ said Johnson, as he 
and his colleague arose and took their hats in their hands. 

“ One moment, if you please, interrupted Major Dela- 
porte, and the detectives turned and waited. 

“ What course do you intend to follow.^^^ 


DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW OKLEANS. 131 


‘‘ That would be unprofessional in us to tell you now/^ 
replied Johnson. 

“ Oh, bother professional conduct!^^ exclaimed Major 
Delaporte. beg your pardon, gentlemen/^ he added 

immediately, ‘‘ but will you not tell me what, in your 
opinion, has become of the young lady?^^ 

“ Since she undoubtedly wore her jewelry, and probably 
had more or less money with her,^^ replied the .detective, 
slowly, as if carefully weighing his words, I think it ex- 
' tremely probable that she has been set upon by some of 
the thieves in which the city abounds. Her jewelry would 
prove so rich a bounty that they would go to any risk to 
get possession of it. 

“ Do you — do you think the poor girl has been mur- 
dered?^^ faltered Mme. Delaporte, tears springing to her 
eyes. 

Messrs. Johnson and Farrar looked thoughtful for a few 
moments, and then the latter slowly replied : 

“No, for if she has been abducted, and 1 think it highly 
probable that she has been, then they can not fail to per- 
ceive that Miss Lorraine is a lady of high quality. They 
would know that, if she were murdered, the crime would 
undoubtedly be traced to them, through the efforts of her 
influential friends, and the thieves would know only too 
surely what would be their fate.^^ 

“ Do you think they may set her at liberty ultimately, 
even if you do not succeed in finding her?^^ 

“ It is not at all improbable that they would do so,'^^ re- 
plied the detective gravely, “ but we must find her before 


132 DETECTIVE JOHUSOII OF NEW ORLEANS. 

that time comes, to save her from the continued horrors of 
her imprisonment, and the possibility of further harm.^^ 

“ 1 have great confidence in your ability and skill, gen- 
tlemen,^^ said Major Delaporte, with a low bow, “and your 
success shall be most beneficial to both of you, I assure 
you.^^ 

“ You shall hear from us as frequently as possible 
through the day and evening,^^ responded Detective John- 
son, “and I trust before dark to bring the young lady back 
to you. 

“ God speed you!’^ rejoined all three in chorus, and the 
detectives took their leave. 

Then began a lonesome and unavailing vigil in the Dela- 
porte house. 

The major withdrew to the smoking-room and smoked 
himself into a headache, while the ladies retired to an up- 
stairs apartment and spent the forenoon in a more or less 
vain attempt to keep each other’s spirits up. 

Mme. Delaporte had already become so fond of Dianne 
that her love for the young girl was second only to Elsie’s. 
And added to this was the horror of having a guest disap- 
pear so mysteriously from her household. 

The morning passed gloomily, and, when the usual hour 
for luncheon had arrived it was ignored by all. 

Early in the afternoon a servant rapped at the door of 
Mme. Delaporte’s apartment. 

“ Come in,” was the eager response. 

“ Mass’r major done wan’ ter see yo’ in de libr’y,” said 
the servant, poking his head in the door. 


DETECTIVE JOHKSOK OF KEW ORLEAKS. 


133 


“ Has Miss Lorraine come yet?^^ questioned Mrs. Dela- 
porte, springing to her feet. 

“ No, missus. 

“ Come dear, we must go down at once,^^ and Mme. 
Delaporte suited the action to the word, closely followed 
by Elsie. 

In the library they found Major Delaporte seated at his 
desk, on the opposite side of which sat Detective Farrar. 

“ Any news?^^ gasped Mrs. Delaporte. 

The major shook his head gloomily. 

I have only come to report progress, explained Far- 
rar. 

But you havenT made any?^^ 

“ I should have said, madame,^^ explained the detective, 
“ that I have come to advise you what we have so far done 
on the case.'^^ 

“ Let us have it at once, please, interjected the major. 

“ We first took up the theory of abduction for the pur- 
pose of robbery, Farrar went on. “Our familiarity with 
the class of people engaged in this line of work, and the 
terror in which they stand of us, made the investigation 
easy. So far we are convinced that Miss Lorraine was not 
abducted for the mere purpose of robbery, as we have been 
to all of the dens in which we know Such kind of work to 
be carried on. I shall keep at work on that line a little 
while longer, however, and my partner, Mr. Johnson, has 
begun a quiet investigation of Mr. Gasparde Lorraine^s 
conduct of late.^^ 

“ I am convinced that you will find in him the real cause 
of Diaiine^s disappearance,’^ put in Elsie eagerly. 


134 DETECTIVE JOHNSOII OF NEW ORLEANS. 

“ Why?^^ questioned Farrar. 

And then Elsie told him the particulars of her cousm^s 
quarrel with Gasparde Lorraine, the duel and its outcome, 
not even omitting the story of Eeginald^s love for Dianne. 

“ I wish you had told me this earlier, said Farrar 
gravely when she had concluded. “ It might have made 
our work easier from the start and more quickly product- 
ive of satisfactory results. 

“ Then you really think there is good reason to be- 
lieve the Lorraine fellow guilty of this outrage?’^ queried 
the major. 

‘‘ It looks to me now like a very clear case,’^ responded 
Farrar. 

“ Then, damme,^^ roared the major, bringing his pon- 
derous fist down upon the desk and springing to his feet, 
“ damme, ITl settle the whole affair in the shortest time 
possible. 

“What are you going to do, major queried Mme. 
Delaporte apprehensively. 

“ Call the d — d rascal out,^^ roared the major, with a 
face of purple hue. 

“ What good will that do?’^ asked Farrar quietly. 

It occurred to Major Delaporte that he had inexcusably 
used an oath in the presence of ladies. 

After apologizing for this breach, he turned to Farrar and 
answered: 

“ Why, sir, only a white-livered scoundrel' would pre- 
sume to take such measures with his own sister, or any 
other woman. I am going to see him at once, and give 


DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW OELEANS. 


135 


liiin the choice between returning Miss Lorraine to me and 
meeting me in the field/^ 

4 

The detective bit his finger nails, and looked perplexed. 

“ I am afraid such a course would only serve to injure 
our case,'^ he said quietly, after a little thought. 

“ How, sir?^^ demanded the major. 

“ Well, in the first place, replied Farrar, “ from what 
I know of Gasparde Lorraine, the man who goes to him to 
‘ ta] k fight will get all he bargains for. The fellow has 
figured in many duels, and has never been known to show 
the white feather. 

“ So much the better, if he will fight, returned the 
major warmly. ‘‘A fellow who will with his own sister 
such a dastardly trick is dangerous to the whole sex. 1 
shall take pleasure in downing such a scoundrel.'’^ 

“ He is a skillful shot, and you can not be so sure of 
downing him,^^ answered the detective. “And as to your 
chivalrous promptings in the matter, you had better put 
them one side. You have engaged our services, sir, and to 
our discretion should be left the task of guiding the case. 
Your interference, 1 fear, would only complicate mat- 
ters. 

“Very well, then,’^ replied the major, after a pause. “I 
have every confidence in the skill of Messrs. Johnson and 
Farrar” — with a bow to the detective, which was returned 
— “ and 1 will wait a full week to see what progress you 
make. If, at the end of that time, we have not heard sat- 
isfactorily from Miss Lorraine, I shall take occasion to wait 
upon her brother, and either exchange shots with hiirr or 
shoot him at sight. ” 


136 DETECTIVE JOHNSOK OF NEW ORLEANS. 

This was said so decisively that the detective knew Major 
Delaporte could be depended upon to keep his word. 

‘/We will do our best in the week you give us then, sir,^^ 
he said, and took his leave. 

Farrar called again just before dinner, and reported what 
discoveries they had made, which seemed few and insig- 
nificant. 

Late in the evening Messrs. Farrar and Johnson put in 
appearance together. 

The had watched and investigated both Lorraine and 
Liscombe, they said, and, though they had as yet discov- 
ered nothing suspicious about these gentlemen, the investi- 
gation would continue unremittingly. 

Meanwhile Elsie, who had found a trustworthy messen- 
ger in one of the slaves of the major^s household, had en- 
gaged him to carry a letter to Eeginald in the morning. 

She had written him quite fully of Dianne^s disappear- 
ance, and ended the letter with these words. 

“ The dear girl is in great peril, and I am confident you 
alone can save her. The detectives have failed so far, but 
where their skill fails them, 1 feel sure your love will not. 
Come at once.^^ 


DETECTIVE JOHKSOK OF NEW OKLEANS. 137 

i 


CHAPTER XIV. 

ON THE SCENT. 

Reginald had risen early in the morning, and his fav- 
orite horse stood already saddled before the house. 

It was his intention to ride over to the Streator planta- 
tion, get Frauk, and spend the morning in a ride at out 
the country, with a possible chance of a few shots at stray- 
' game. 

When he had finished his early breakfast he emerged 
from the house with his gun, which he strapped across the 
saddle, and then mounted. 

The morning was fine, with just enough of crisp cold in 
in the air to make the exercise in the saddle exhilarating. 

Whipping his horse into a brisk canter, he soon covered 
the distance between the two plantations. 

As he passed the little railroad station of Streator he 
heard his name shouted, and saw the station agent run- 
ning toward him as fast as his lame leg would permit. 

“ There^s a nigger just come in on the last train, sah,^^ 
puffed the station-master, ‘‘an^ he says he^s got a letter 
to carry down |^to yo\ I saw yo^ goin’ by, an^ called 
yo\ "" 

Turning his horse^s head about, Reginald rode leisurely 
back to the station, where he found the slave awaiting 
him. 

“ From Blsie,^^ was Reginald's thought, upon beholding 


138 DETECTIVE JOHJ^SON OF NEW ORLEANS. 

the superscription. “ May the fates grant that she has 
summoned me to New Orleans to meet Dianne 

He tore open the envelope and read. 

His face was overclouded, and as he read on he turned 
pale. When he had finished the perusal there was a hard, 
set look about his mouth. 

He turned to the station agent and demanded: 

“ How soon does the next train leave for New Orleans?’^ 

“ ^Bout an hour, sah,^^ was the answer; “ that is, if she 
ain^t late.^^ 

Eeginald crumpled the letter, jammed it in his pocket, 
and headed the horse toward the Streator plantation. 

Down came the whip with a savage crack on the ani- 
maPs fiankj and that usually sedate animal was thereby 
startled into a great demonstration of speed. 

When he drew up before the house the horse was cov- 
ered with foam and sweat. 

Frank, who was ready and waiting, and who was a good 
deal of a horseman, eyed both rider and beast rather dubi- 
ously. 

“ I am afraid you’ve taken a good deal out of your 
horse, old fellow,” was his salutation, as soon as Eeginald 
drew rein and leaped to the ground. “ I would recom- 
mend, old man, that we call a few minutes’ halt and give 
one of my ‘ boys ’ time to rub your beast down. He isn’t 
fit to go another step in the condition he’s in now. You 
shouldn’t ride so hard. ’ ’ 

“ Oh, bother the horse! I can’t help it if I’ve killed 
him,” Eeginald responded, impatiently. “Have one of 
your boys put him in the stable indefinitely, please.” 


DETECTIVE JOiJKSOl^ OF KEW OKLEANS. 139 

And my own, too?^^ asked Frank, looking surprised. 

“ If you love me, yes. And then get one of your men 
to go over to my house, with a message to my mother to 
send my trunk to the hotel in New Orleans.'’^ 

Any further orders?” asked Frank. 

“ Yes; if you are willing to go to New Orleans with me 
hurry to your room and get on a presentable rig. ” 

Thoroughly astonished, Frank carried out his friend^s 
wishes, and then led the way to his room. 

“Another duel?^’ the boy asked, as soon as they had 
gained that apartment, and locked the door. 

“ No; something more serious than that,” rejoined 
Eeginald. 

“ Must be something mighty grave, then,” muttered 
Frank, struggling into a, white shirt. 

“ It is,” was Eeginald ’s answer, and then, as his friend 
continued hurriedly dressing, he read Elsie^s letter aloud 
to him. 

“So we are to play the knight-errant, eh?” queried 
Frank, a good deal astonished. 

“ More in the detective line, I should say — with possibly 
the role of avenger,” Eeginald added, grimly. 

“ I am ready now,” said Frank. “ I will get mother 
to send my trunk up on a later train.” 

Together the friends hurried to the depot. 

The train was only a few minutes late, and they reached 
their hotel before the morning was gone. 

Frank went out and purchased such articles of clothing 
as Eeginald immediately needed for the improvement of 
his appearance. 


140 DETECTIVE JOHNSON OE NEW OKLEANS. 

Then they got into a carriage and rode rapidly to Major 
Delaporte’s house. 

They were shown into the reception-room, where they 
were soon joined by Elsie, and later by Major and Mme. 
Delaporte. 

‘‘ 1 have sent for my cousin — and his friend — because I 
believe they can help us a geat deal iii finding Dianne,^^ 
Miss Prentiss explained to her host and hostess. “ From 
what you already know I think you will agree with me 
that Eeginald will work more earnestly than the detect- 
ives, who have only the incentive of earning money. 

“ I am expecting them soon,^^ rejoined the major, 
“ and then Mr. Prentiss and Mr. Streator can talk the 
matter over with them.^^ 

The detectives soon arrived, and were invited to join the 
group. They hung back at first, at the sight of strangers, 
but the major called out, reassuringly: 

“ Come right in, gentlemen. These are two friends 
who are going to help us out, if they can.^^ 

“ By fighting duels?^^ queried Farrar, dryly. 

‘"This gentleman is Mr. Prentiss, responded the 
major. “ He has already crossed swords with that scoun- 
drel, Lorraine, and 1 doubt not, is ready to do it again if 
occasion arises. And this other gentleman is Mr. Strea- 
tor. 

The detectives shook hands with the new-comers, and 
then Johnson gravely asked: 

“ In what way do you think, gentlemen, you can help 
us?^^ 


DETECTIVE JOHKSON OF KEW ORLEANS. 141 


“ That 1 do not know as yet/^ replied Eeginald. “ I 
was sent for, and so came.^^ 

“ Sent’ for by Major Delaporte?^^ 

“ No; by me/^ interjected Elsie. I thought he ought 
to be sent for, because I know his earnestness could be re- 
lied upon.^^ 

‘‘Without a doubt,^^ replied Johnson, dryly. Like 
nearly all detectives, he was not overpleased with the idea 
of outside help, which was, in his vocabulary, but another 
name for interference. 

“ Well, gentlemen, let me hear your report, put in 
Major Delaporte. “ Since you have come alone it is use- 
less to ask if you have found Miss Lorraine. 

“Not yet,^^ answered Johnson, with professional 
gravity. “But we are shadowing both Lorraine and Lins" 
comb, in the l^ope that their movements may lead us to 
Miss Lorraine. 

^ ‘ Then you are convinced that her brother knows where 
she is?^^ asked Eeginald, thoughtfully. 

“Not convinced, answered Johnson, cautiously. 
“We have good reason to think so, I may say, but we 
make it a rule never to be sure of anything until we know 
it positively. 

Farrar nodded his head approvingly, and Mrs. Delaporte 
looked on hopefully. 

But Eeginald was vexed over the uncommunicativeness 
of the detectives. He did not permit himself to betray his 
annoyance, however, for he did not dare to do or say any- 
thing which might anger the professional gentlemen and 
thus diminish Dianne’s chance of a speedy rescue. 


142 DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW ORLEANS. 

Johnson and his colleague went on to describe their 
meager discoveries, but were uncommunicative as to what 
their next steps would be. 

Eeginald, to whom their professional matter-of-fact way 
was slow torture, broke in : 

Gentlemen, can you not outline some work in this 
matter which my friend and myself can do, without offend- 
ing or interfering with you?^^ 

Johnson and Farrar deliberated for a period which 
seemed like an age to the impatient lover. 

Ye-es, I think we can find something for you to do,^^ 
Johnson at length replied. . . 

“ Then, for Heaven^s sake, name it at once!^^ 

‘‘It is this,^^ said the detective: “It is barely possible 
that we are all mistaken, and that Mr. Lorraine has had 
nothing to do with this affair. Therefore, while my part- 
ner and ni3^self are following up the young lady^s brother 
and his friend, it can do no harm if you and Mr. Streator 
search the slums. 

“ In what way?’^ 

“ Well, go at the matter cautiously and carefully. You 
are probably well enough acquainted with New Orleans to 
know where the worst holes are. Go into them, together; 
make inquiries for a young lady answering to her descrip- 
tion, and give out that you are willing to pay a substantial 
reward for her release — the amount you can best decide 
yourself. 

“ Make all inquiries in good faith, and do everything 
earnestly. Let the people among whom you make your 
inquiries see that you mean just what you say, and will 


DETECTIVE JOHUSON" OF NEW ORLEANS. 


113 


pay the reward loromptly, and no questions asked. I think 
y lu will agree that even to pay a large reward will be 
much better than to let the lady suffer imprisonment in 
quarters that must be highly disgusting to her. 

‘‘ Far better/^ rejoined Prentiss, earnestly; “ I will 
gladly pay five, even ten thousand dollars, to get her free 
within a few hours. 

t 

The detectives shook their heads. 

‘‘ That is too much money, far too much,^^ Farrar put 
in. “ If you offer such sums, and her captors hear of it, 
they will at once decide that Miss Lorraine is a very valua- 
ble piece of goods, and they would undoubtedly take extra 
precautions to hold her, and demand an even higher price 
than you have mentioned. 

“ Exactly, assented Johnson. “ Offer five hundred 
dollars at the start, and stick to exactly that figure. Then 
if you meet any one who can negotiate with you, don’t 
allow the fellow to raise the price another dollar, but inti- 
mate to him that any delay will destroy the value of the 
lady’s release.” 

“We will follow your* instructions to the letter,” said 
Eeginald, rising, “ and 1 am very grateful to you for your 
hints.” 

“ Here, let me place a brace of revolvers at your dis- 
posal,” said Major Delaporte, unlocking his desk and tak- 
ing forth a pair of handsomely mounted weapons. 

Prentiss and Streator pocketed the pistols with thanks, 
and then hurried from the house to commence operations 
at once. 

“ Whither away?” demanded Frank. 


144 DETECTIVE JOHNSON^ OF KEW ORLEANS. 

“ To Miller’s Lane/’ was Reginald’s response. 
“ Doesn’t that strike you as as good a place as any to begin 
with?” 

“ That it does, old fellow. Lead the way, and we will 
search the city through, if need be.” 

We may have to, many times,” replied Prentiss, with 
a sigh. 

“ What do you think of the programme that fellow has 
laid out for us?” 

‘‘ 1 think he and his partner have reserved the best end 
of it for themselves,” Reginald answered. “ But then 
nothing is sure as yet, and you and I may stumble upon 
the dear girl most unexpectedly.” 

Reaching Miller’s Lane, the two entered a low resort for 
flatboatmen, known as the “ Gringoes’ Retreat.” 

Both spent money freely, in an endeavor to make the 
habitues of the place communicative, and both took differ- 
ent characters aside, one at a time, and questioned them 
minutelv. 

But the search in the place was unavailing. No one 
would admit knowing anything of Dianne Lorraine's 
whereabouts, and even the offers of money did nothing to- 
ward refreshing their memories. 

From the Gringoes’ Retreat Prentiss and Streator visited 
several of the dance-halls frequented by the worst elements 
of the city, but even here their efforts did not meet with 
success. 

Wearied with their unrewarded search, the friends went 
to the most respectable restaurant to be found in that 
neighborhood and partook of a somewhat unsavory meal. 


DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF IIEW OKLEAKS. 145 


“ What do you think of it now?^^ Streator inquired. 

“ The least said about it the better,^ ^ was the discour- 
aged response. 

“ But you donT propose to give it up, Eeggy?’^ 

“ Give it up? No, not if it takes weeks, months, to 
find her; but think of the tortures, the miseries, the poor 
girl is undergoing.^^ 

Frank nodded his head compassionately, and silently 
offered his friend a cigar. 

The two lighted their weeds and sauntered forth to re- 
commence their search. 

It was dark now, and down the dimly lighted streets the 
friends could see that all of the dens were lighted up and 
doing a rushing business. 

“We ought to succeed much better now than in the 
day-time, suggested Streator, encouragingly, “ for all 
the ^ queer ^ people in New Orleans must be astir in their 
favorite resorts by this time.^^ 

They visited three dance-halls in succession, putting 
their questions cautiously, but without success. 

No sooner had they entered the fourth, however, than a 
seedy-looking young fellow came up behind them and 
leaned nonchalantly against a wall. 

“ DonT turn round, boss. DonT look at me at all, but 
talk low. Air ye lookin^ fer a girl?^^ 

“ Yes,^^ was Eeginald^s eagerly whispered response, as 
he obeyed his interlocutor’s request to look the other way. 

“ A little bit of a bright blonde beauty?” 

“ The same!” ejaculated Eeginald, now hardly able to 
refrain from looking at his questioner. 


146 DETECTIVE JOHITSON OF NEW OKLEANS. 

“ Will it be worth money to ye if I succeed in takin^ ye 
to a place where you^ll find her?^^ 

“ Indeed it is. Show me the way at once.^^ 

“Hold on^ friends. We must come to terms fust. It 
must be onderstood that I gets five dollars^ anyway, and 
twenty-five if 1 succeeds.'’^ 

“Yes, yes, j^ou' shall have it; lead the way without 
losing a moment, 1 implore you. 

“ Softly, friend; some one may be pipin^ us. ni go 
out in a few minutes, and then ye comes out and ye finds 
me on the sidewalk. 

The seedy young man straightened up and moved away, 
and then, after what seemed like an interminable age to 
Reginald, their volunteer guide left the dance-hall. 

The two friends followed, and once outside they saw the 
seedy young man walking down the street, as if leading 
the way. 

Without approaching too near their guide Prentiss and 
Streator followed on in his footsteps, the former with pal- 
pitating heart and feverish pulse, and the latter far from 
calm. 


DETECTIVE JOHHSOK OF NEW ORLEANS. 


147 



CHAPTER XV. 

A RAY OF HOPE THROUGH A DREARY SOLITUDE. 

It was daylight when Dianne gained consciousness again. 

Whether she had slumbered or had fainted^ she knew 
not, and wondered but little at first. 

It was some moments after she awoke before she became 
fully aware of her surroundings. 

Dianne remembered, in a half-stupefied sort of way, that 
something disagreeable had happened the night before, 
but it was some little time before she realized all. 

At last she arose to a sitting posture on her mattress 
and looked about her. 

Like a flash all the incidents of her capture came back 
to her. 

She remembered all, even the coming to in her wretched 
quarters during the night, and the then impossibility of 
learning very much about her surroundings. 

As she looked about her now, there could be no doubt in 
her mind that she was confined in a most despicable place. 

It was unquestionably an attic or loft, and the miserable 
apartment was not over twelve feet square. 

There was not a window in the room, and the only light 
that was admitted came through the skylight which she 
had so ineffectually tried to reach during the night. 

Her head was still aching violently, and the sensation of 
nausea had not entirely disappeared. 


148 DETECTIVE JOHl^-SOK OF iq^EW ORLEANS. 

The mattress was the sole article of furniture which the 
room contained^ so it took her but an instant, when fully 
awake, to comprehend her surroundings. 

While she was wondering what to do, and whether there 
was any possible avenue of escape, she heard two distinct 
clicks at the door. 

One was unmistakably the turning of a key, and the 
other the sudden withdrawing of a bolt on the other side. 

In another moment the door was open, and a fat black 
arm protruded into the room, passing in a plate of food 
and a tin pail. 

This done, the arm was quickly withdrawn again, and 
the key clicked in the lock. 

Dianne, as soon as she comprehended that the door of 
her jail was open, had sprung quickly to her feet. 

With a low cry, in which hope and terror were com- 
mingled, she threw herself against the barrier, just as the 
key was being turned. 

In another instant the ominous thud of an iron bolt 
slipping into its socket greeted her ears. 

“ Let me out!” she wailed, hammering the door with 
her tiny fist. “ Let me out! oh, please let me out!” 

“ Yo^ keep still in dar, or 1^11 ^tend to yo^ quick 
ernuff.” 

“Let me out, won’t you, please?” Dianne moaned, 
despairingly, in response. 

“ I’se’ll punch yo’ hed, if yo’ doan’ keep quiet!” ad- 
monished the same gruff tones without. 

But Dianne had recognized a woman’s voice, and she 
now hoped wildly for succor on account of her sex. 



DETECTIVE JOHNSOiq" OF NEW ORLEANS. 149 

“ You are a woman she cried. ‘‘ 1 know you will lefc 
me out. You must. It is horrible in here!^^ 

“ Doan^ thnk I dar to let yo^ out dis day/^ came the 
reply, and Dianne heard the shuffling steps of her jailer 
moving away. 

“ I’ll pay you anything you ask to let me out!” she 
cried, eagerly, but the woman on the other side of the door 
was evidently out of hearing, and there was no response to 
this offer. 

With a cry of despair and abject terror, Dianne threw 
herself upon the mattress, and sobbed violently for many 
minutes. 

When she had become calmer, she endeavored to think 
of her chances of escape. 

“ 1 can pay them well to let me go,” she reflected, and 
then came the thought: “ What if 1 have been robbed!” 

Nothing was more likely. A single glance showed that 
her jewels W’ere gone. 

“ Did they get my purse?” she wondered. 

Investigation showed that either her abductor or her 
jailer had most certainly obtained possession of her purse 
and its contents. 

“ Then I am in a most hopeless predicament,” she 
sobbed to herself. “ I have no valuables about me to 
offer for my release, and they wouldn’t trust me to go to 
my friends to get a reward.” 

She could think of no course which promised her free- 
dom, so after a few moments she began to wonder what 
kind of a breakfast had been brought to her. 


150 DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW ORLEANS. 

Moving toward the door, she found that for the present 
she need not fear starvation at least. 

The plate contained a nice juicy steak, a sweet potato 
and a piece of hoe-cake. At its side was a cup of fragrant 
coffee, and the tin pail contained water. 

The latter was, perhaps, as important a find as any. 
Dipping her handkerchief in the pail, she made a wet 
bandage and applied it to her throbbing head. 

After a little the headache wore gradually away, and 
appetite came in its place. 

She managed to make a hearty meal with the material 
at her disposal, and then felt wonderfully better. 

When noon came she noticed that the sun^s rays were 
pouring through the little skylight, and she pulled her 
mattress to a spot underneath where she could lie and 
bask in the mellow glow. 

It seemed to do her a wonderful amount of good, for, in 
her dreary loneliness, the sun was a friendly companion 
indeed. 

At last she felt a dim perception that there was human 
companionship near at hand. 

Instinctively she raised her eyes to the skylight, and saw 
a little black face regarding her intently through the dirty 
panes of glass. 

Was help at hand? 

Her heart throbbed and beat wildly. 

She made a sign that she wished to speak with him, and 
the little colored boy on the roof seemed to understand her. 

By dint of much and long exertion the little fellow man- 
aged to get the skylight up. 


DETECTIVE JOHKSON OF NEW OKLEANS. 


Then he poked his head through the aperture and 
looked wonderingly at Dianne and about the room. 

“ W^at yo^ doin^ dar, missy he demanded, at last. 

“ I have been locked in here/^ cried Dianne, eagerly, 
“ and 1 want you to help me to get out.^^ 

“ Doan^ kno^ ^bout dat, missy. I reckon if I git cotched 
I^se a skinned niggah, I is.^^ 

“ But you wonT get caught, urged Dianne, eagerly. 
‘‘You have only to help me to the roof, then show me a 
way to gain the street, and follow me to a place where 1 
will give you a handsome reward. 

But the little fellow shook his head dubiously. 

“Beckon, missy, yo^ doan^ kno^ how cheap niggahs is 
^roun’ heah. If massY cotch me doin^ it I ainT got no 
longer to lib. He shoot me drefful quick, massh’ would. 
He doan^ fool wid no one. 

“ Does your master own this house Dianne inquired, 
quickly. 

“ Nope,^^ was the positive response. 

“ Does he live here, then?^^ 

“ Nope.’^ 

“ Then how came you here?’’ 

“ Mass’r libs nex’ door, and de two houses join one an- 
oder.” 

“ How did vou know I was here?” 

%j 

“ Didn’ kno'* for shuah; jest crawlin’ ober de ruff, an’ 
seen yo’ down dar, missy, an’ wondered how yo’ kem 
dar.” « 

“ I’m locked in here by wicked people, who want to 
keep me here, and I’m very unhappy!” declared Dianne, 


152 DETECTIVE JOHKSOK OF NEW OKLEANS. 

trying to use language which the little fellow could under- 
stand. 

“ What for is dey locked yo’ in dar?^^ demanded the 
little fellow, who did not seem overquick of perception. 

“ Because they want to get my money/^ answered 
Dianne. “ But if you will help me to get out of here, lit- 
tle one, 1^11 have you bought of your master, and then you 
shall be free.'^^ 

‘‘ Beckon I doan^ kno^ w’at ^ free ^ done mean, missy,^^ 
rejoined the youth, looking more puzzled than ever. 

“ DonH you know what it means to be free?^^ Dianne 
asked, incredulously. 

“ Eeck^n I doan% missy. 

Why, to be free, little one, means to be able to do just 
as you please, to have no master, to be just like white 
people.^’ / 

The boy^s perplexity was evidently increasing. 

“ W^en I’se free I doan’ hab no mass^r?^^ he repeated, 
looking at her more wonderingly than ever. 

“No, no master,^^ assured Dianne, who saw it would 
not do to hurry the youth faster than he could compre- 
hend. 

“ Shucks!^^ rejoined the youngster, with something like 
contempt in his tone. “ What’s a niggah gwine do wid- 
out a massh’, anyway?’^ 

“ Why, do just as he pleases, of course. 

“ An^ wharTl he git enurff to eat?^^ 

“ Who, the master 

“No, de niggah, ob course. See heah, missy, who yo’ 
s’pose done gwine ter git a niggah somefin ter eat or er 


DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW ORLEANS. 


lo3 


place ter sleep if he jest a pore, no ^count niggali, w’at 
doaii^ wuk for^ no rnassh'?^^ 

“You will work for yourself, and get paid for all you 
do,^^ returned Dianne, slowly. 

She was just beginning to find herself at a loss how to 
answer the youngster’s strange questions. 

“ Wuk fo’ myself, an’ git paid?” was the incredulous 
response. “ See heah, I’se jess a niggah, an’ jjo ’count, 
sartin, but I done want yo’ quit foolin’ wid me.” 

“ I’m not fooling with you, little one; I’m very much 
in earnest,” said Dianne, appealingly, tears coming to her 
eyes in spite of herself, when she began to fear that her 
only hope of escape was slipping away. 

“ I’se kno’ yo’ ain’t foolin’ wid me, missy,” he said, 
contritely. “ So doan’ cry, please, missy, but tell me 
’bout w’en I’se free.” 

“You can go North,” answered Dianne, drying her 
eyes, “ and when you get there you can get work to do, 
and pay for it, just like white people.” 

“ Whar’s de No’th, missy?” 

“ Ever so far away from here.” 

“ Furder away frum heah dan ole Kaintuck?” 

“ Just the other side of Kentucky.” 

“ Shucks! is dat so? 1 done heah tell ob ‘ free ’ nig- 
gahs, w’en I’se in ole Kaintuck, but I didn’ nebber see 
none' wid my own eyes, an’ I nebber kno’ w’at dey was.” 

“ Will you help me to get out?” queried Dianne, with 
feverish impatience. 

“ Doan’ kno’ as I kin, missy,” rejoined the boy, with a 
puzzled shake of his woolly head. 


154 


DETECTIVE JOHNSOil OF KEW ORLEANS. 


“ But 1^11 get you your freedom, and send you North/’ 
urged Dianne. 

‘‘ I’ll do w’at I kin, missy.” 

“ Then get a rope, and help me out of here.” 

The boy scratched his head, and seemed about to con- 
sent, when he suddenly straightened himself up and list- 
ened intently. 

“ What is it you hear?” queried Dianne, with a pre- 
sentiment of evil. 

Ole’r mass’r done call me down in de street. I 
reek’ll I hab ter cut, or I’se ’ll git my black skin peeled 
off.” 

“ Come back as soon as you can — please do,” implored 
Dianne. 

‘‘ I’]l do dat, missy, for suah.” 

“ How soon will that be?” 

I kain’t tell, missy, but I’se kim back jess as soon as 
I kin. But I reck’n I’se better cut now, for dar’s ole 
mass’r down in the street a-shoutin’, ^ Pompey, Pompey, 
yo’ black rascal! Whar is yo’?’ So I’se gwine now, 
missy, but I’se ’ll kim back some time.” 

Cautiously the boy withdrew from the aperture, and 
then closed the skylight as he had found it. 

One last, reassuring glance he gave Dianne, and then 
disappeared from sight. 

When Pompey was gone she was in a feverish state of 
hope and expectation, and could hardly keep herself from 
shouting and weeping with sheer joy. 

“ I shall soon be free/’ she whispered to herself, wii\i 


DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW ORLEANS. 


155 


radiant face. “ Oli^ how glad 1 shall be to get back to 
dear Madame Delaporte, and dear, dear Elsie 

Her face was flushed and feverish, and she used up the 
last of the water in the tin pail in bathing it. 

Then she waited and listened for the return of Pompey, 
but an hour passed by, and still there were no signs of 
that youngster. 

“ He^s probably been sent somewhere on an errand,^^ 
she thought, or perhaps he^s gone to And a rope. But 
hefll come back, I know he will. Something seems to tell 
me so.^^ 

But at that moment something occurred which attracted 
her attention elsewhere. 

She heard the noise of a key turning in the door and 
realized that she was about to receive a visitor. 


156 DETECTIVE JOHKSOJsT OF NEW OKLEAKS. 


CHAPTER XVI. 

POMf>EY KETUKNS. 

Dianne’s first thought was to pull the mattress away 
from uudel’ the skylight, in order that her plan of escape 
might not even be remotely suspected. 

Hardly had she done so, and taken a seat upon the mat- 
tress herself, when the door opened a few inches. 

Then a turbaned head asserted itself through the aper- 
ture, and Dianne saw that her caller, or jailer, was a col- 
ored woman. 

Is yo’ all right, missy?” queried the woman. 

• 

“ That depends,” returned Dianne. 

“ ’Pends ’pon w’at, missy?” 

‘‘ On whether you call it right to keep a free white 
woman boxed up in this shameful manner.” 

“ Xow, see heah, missy,” exclaimed the woman, raising 
her voice not a little, “ doan’ you tak’ on dat way, ’cause 
I reck’n it won’t do no good, nohow.” 

“ Wouldn’t you let me out if you were paid for it?” 
queried Dianne. “ 1 mean, if you were paid very well?” 

“ Now, see heah, mah young lady. Doan’ talk dat way 
to me, ’cause dere ain’ money enufi in New Orleans to 
mak me let yo’ go, unless mass’r say de word. ’Cause if 
yo’ get away he done kill me for shuah, and den w’at good 
am de money gwine ter do me? Tell me dat, mah young 
lady.” 


DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW OELEA.NS. 157 


“ Is he so bad as that?^^ questioned Dianne. 

“ Eeck'^n he am dat^ for suah^ an^ er heap sight wuss. ” 
And he would kill you for letting me get away?’^ 

“ Eeck^n heM kill me, missy, so quick 1 wouldn^t know 
w^at it was dat hurt me.^^ 

“ When do you think he intends to let me go?’^ asked 
Dianne. 

The woman was pretending to busy herself with picking 
up the breakfast dishes, and Dianne was obliged to repeat 
her question twice. 

“ Was yo’ talking to me?^^ demanded the woman at last. 

“ 1 asked you,^^ reiterated Dianne, “ when you thought 
your master intended to let me go out of this wretched 
place 

“ AinT so suah yo’s goin%^^ replied the woman, stoically. 

“You donT mean to say he will keep me here the rest 
of my life?^^ demanded Dianne, incredulously. 

“ Dat Spends, missy, on how long yo^s goin^ to lib."^^ 

There was something so significant in the way this was 
said that Dianne now began to be thoroughly alarmed. 

Did the ruffian who had abducted her, mean to kill her 
in cold blood? 

The old maxim that “ Dead men tell no tales, re- 
curred to her with ghastly significance. 

She shuddered, as she thought of the doom that was seem- 
ingly in store for her, and wondered how soon it would 
come. 

Inexperienced as she was in the wicked ways of the 
world, she nevertheless could see clearly that the ruffian 
who had brought her to this miserable place would feei 


158 


DETECTIVE JOHNSOII OF NEW ORLEANS. 


secure from discovery and punishment if her tongue was 
silenced forever. 

She was silent now, and had no more questions to 
ask. 

The colored woman seeing this, smiled grimly and piled 
up the dishes preparatory to departing. 

Dianne noticed the partly opened door, and a desperate 
idea came into her mind. 

The idea rapidly developed into a resolve. 

Beyond that door lay — what? 

The outside world, and freedom, she hoped. 

The jailer ^s back was turned, and the moment was pro- 
pitious. 

Dianne rose cautiously to her feet. 

Evidently the colored woman did not hear her for her back 
was still turned. 

“ God help me and sustain me!^^ murmured the poor 
girl. 

Then with a bound she reached the door. 

Another bound and she had pushed it open. 

The next room was very much like the one which she 
had just left, and at the other end she perceived a stair wa}\ 

She sped across the room. 

The colored woman discovered the escape as soon as it 
was made. 

“Come back heah, chile,^^ she shouted, rushing after the 
girl. 

But Dianne, unheeding, ran towards the stairs. 

She gained them and started to descend. 

But her jailer had caught up with her. 


DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW ORLEANS. 159 

“ Yo^ doan^fool dis niggah dat way,^^ shouted her pur- 
suer. 

Dianne made a frantic effort to get down stairs^ but the 
other caught her by the hair. 

The poor girl fought desperately^but gradually, step by 
step, she was forced back to the attic floor. 

Here the desperate conflict was renewed. 

The woman was strong, and fought with the temper and 
strength of a virago. 

Dianne, well built and wiry for a girl, seemed suddenly 
possessed of the strength of an Amazon. 

“ Let me go!^^ she hissed. 

“ Dat I wonT, mah lady.^^ 

“ Let me go, or ITl tear you to pieces 
1 kin play dat game as well as yo% missy. 

‘‘Youfiend!^^ panted Dianne, still struggling with all 
the strength and fury she could summon; let go of me 
this minute, or ITl kill you!^^ 

“ Dak’s a game we knows pretty well heah, too,^^ chuck- 
led the virago, striking her captive unmercifully. 

Clinched tightly, they struggled and struggled, and Di- 
anne ^s great fury and wild longing for escape seemed to 
make her the equal of her antagonist. 

At last, with a sudden wrench, Dianne freed herself. 

This time she knew better than to turn and run. 

The virago must be first silenced. 

During the struggle Dianne had all the time had her eye 
on a stick of wood which lay upon the floor. 

Both now saw it. 

Dianne rushed toward it. 


160 DETECTIVE JOHNSOil OF NEW ORLEANS. 


So did the virago. 

But the girl was the first to reach it. 

Snatching it in her hand, she now stood erect, her head 
thrown back and a savage light gleaming in her eyes. 

Now, you hag, 1^11 kill you if you resist or make any 
noise she hissed. 

“Drop that stick vociferated the other, seemingly not 
in the least intimidated. 

“ Go back into that room!^^ commanded Dianne, brand- 
ishing her club in the direction of her recent prison. 

“ Git dar, yo’self returned the woman, scornfully. 

“ Get in there, I tell you!^^ shouted Dianne, beside her- 
self with excitement and natural ferocity. 

“ Drop dat stick, I tell you!^’ returned the woman. 

Dianne seeing that she was not being obeyed, advanced 
upon her foe with the stick uplifted. 

Then began some artful dodging. 

The virago seeing the fire in the girTs eye and realizing 
her danger, retreated. 

Dianne took pains to keep between the woman and the 
stairs, while the other exercised equal ingenuity in keeping 
away from the door of the girl’s former prison. 

“Are you ready to go into that room now?” demanded 
Dianne, after several ineffectual attempts to strike the ne- 
gress. 

“ Is yo’ ready to drop dat stick an’ go dar yo’se’f?” was 
the retort. 

Dianne made no answer, but seeing her opportunity, 
sprang forward with the club uplifted. 


DETECTIVE JOHKSOIir OF NEW OKLEAKS. 


161 


Down it came with a sickening thud upon the negress^ 
head. 

A blow that would have killed, or at least stunned any- 
body else, was apparently thrown away in this case. 

The woman reeled, but recovered herself before Dianne 
could follow up her advantage. 

“ What^s all that noise up thar, Lize?^^ shouted a voice 
from below. 

“ Come heah, quick, mass’r!^^ shouted the virago, and 
Dianne heard heavy footsteps coming. 

She turned and faced the new-comer, stick in hand. 

So she^s got out, the hussy growled the man, whom 
the girl recognized as her abductor. 

He sprang upon her, and Dianne would have struck him 
down, but she felt a pair of sinewy black arms encircling 
her own. 

Give me this splinter commanded the man, and 
wrenching the stick from Dianne^s grasp. 

Then without a word, he seized her and bore her back 
to her old dungeon. 

With no little violence the man threw her down upon the 
mattress. 

“ Now, I reckon yo^ll stay thar!^^ he muttered, standing 
over her and glaring at her malevolently. 

Then, turning on his heel, he strode out of the room, 
and locked the door behind him. 

All of her strength was gone now, and the poor girl lay 
panting and exhausted on the mattress where she had 
been so forcibly thrown. 

No one came near her, as the hours sped by, and she 


162 DETECTIVE JOHNSOK OF NEW ORLEANS. 

gradually recovered sufficiently to discover that she had a 
very healthy appetite. 

Did they intend to starve her into submission? 

It was not a pleasant prospect. 

She might lay there for days without food, she re- 
flected, and then Pompey^s promise of future aid came back 
to her. 

Hours had passed since the little slave boy had left her. 

Why did he not come back? 

Could he be relied upon to come at all? 

In her heart she felt that he could, so she must wait and 
hope and pray. 

The daylight gradually gave place to the darkness of an 
early winter evening. 

Pulling her mattress to the spot under the sklylight she 
glanced up. 

The stars were twinkling brightly, and it looked like a 
clear crisp night without. 

The evening had not far advanced when she heard a 
faint scratching sound overhead. 

Looking up quickly, with a feeling of hope surging 
through her bosom, she saw a diminutive hand and wrist 
upon the glass. 

The noise was repeated, and then she discovered a curly 
head peering down into her place of captivity. 

Springing to her feet she stood erect and extended her 
arms toward her visitor that he might see she was on the' 
alert. 

He evidently saw her, for she could hear him tugging 
at the skylight. 


DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW ORLEANS. 163 


After what seemed like hours to the hopeful but impa- 
tient captive he succeeded in raising the frame, and she felt 
a sweep of cool air. 

Is that you, Pompey?^^ she whispered, eagerly. 

“ Yes, datks me, missy. 

“ Thank God!^^ Dianne exclaimed, fervently. “ Can 
you help me out now?^^ 

‘‘Yes, missy; I Pink 

“ Then be quick about it, please, Pompey.’^ 

“ Is yo^ got on all yo^ street close queried the urchin. 

“ No, but I will have right away. Don’t lose a moment, 
Pompey. ” 

Dianne hurried on her wrap, and fastened it about her, 
after which she fastened her hat securely on her head. 

She heard the noise of cautious pounding on the roof, 
and realized that the boy was driving a nail or a spike. 
Then a knotted rope was lowered into the room. 

“ Quick, missy!” whispered the boy. 

Dianne stole on tiptoe to the door of her prison, and list- 
ened intently. 

Not a sound was to be heard on the other side of the 
door, and she believed she could make her escape unob- 
served and uninterrupted. 

“Quick, missy; quicker’n dat!” Pompey whispered 
again. 

Seizing the knotted rope with both hands, Dianne raised 
herself a few inches at a time. 

AVhen she had nearly reached the roof, she felt her 
strength failing her. Pompey, too, perceived this, and 
stretched out his hand to her. 


164 DETECTIVE JOHNSOII OF NEW ORLEANS. 

Betvveen the boy and the rope she was enabled to reach 
the roof in safety, where she sat down panting and ex- 
hausted. 

Pompey quickly recovered his rope, and replaced the 
skylight. 

Then he turned to Dianne and said: 

“ Come, missy; no time to lose!” 

She followed him across the roof to the adjoining house, 
where they came to an open skylight. 

Yo^ go down first, missy,” advised the boy; and she 
did so. 

Then she followed him noiselessly down what appeared 
to be three flights of back stairs. 

The boy held a door open, and she passed out into a 
back yard. 

This way, missy,” whispered Pompey; and before she 
realized it he had pushed her through another gate- way, and 
she found herself upon the street. 

She was free at last! 


DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW ORLEANS. 165 


CHAPTER XVII. 

A RECOGNITION AND A PURSUIT. 

I 

Free, but for how long? 

Dianne breathed in the air of freedom, and felt exhila- 
rated, only to become a prey to terror of the wildest kind. 

Not knowing which way to turn, she had paused, as 
soon as the gate closed behind her, irresolute and uncer- 
tain. 

After the first rapture of sudden liberty had passed 
away, she shudderingly realized that she was standing next 
door to the abode of the scoundrel who had entrapped her. 

She cast a hurried, frightened glance about her, but the 
result of her searching look was on the whole reassuring, 
and she breathed more easily. 

Yet she must not pause a moment longer. 

She had become convinced of the idea that her ruffianly 
captor had made up his mind to murder her, and oh, if he 
should find her again now that she had once escaped his 
clutches! 

Bending her head as low as possible, and looking neither 
to the right nor the left, she hurried down the narrow, 
dimly lighted street. 

Where? 

She knew not, only realizing that all her hopes of safety 
were now centered in putting the house of her late deten- 
tion as far behind her as possible. 


166 DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW OKLEANS. 

Several times Dianne fancied she heard stealthy footsteps 
in pursuit, and as often turned to look behind her, only to 
discover that her fears had deceived her. 

The first corner she came to she turned down, not that 
she knew whither it led, but possessed of the idea that she 
must continue her fiight until she reached a place of com- 
parative safety. 

Taking time to look about her, now that she realized 
she was not being closely pursued, Dianne was sur23rised 
and dismayed to find that her surroundings were not im- 
proving with regard to respectability. 

The slouched, shuffling figure of a young man ambled 
by her, and Dianne, with a sudden chill creeping into her 
heart, saw that he was watching her. 

Was he one of the rufflans who had brought about her 
captivity? 

If so, did he intend to pounce upon her, and carry her 
back, that his confederates might wreak their vengeance 
upon her? 

Trembling in every limb, Dianne managed to accelerate 
her speed, and a feeling of great relief came to her when 
she realized that the young man had passed on with no 
display of hostile intentions. 

But almost immediately her fright was renewed. 

Two other men had passed her, and she felt, rather than 
saw, that they had paused, and were regarding her. 

One of them started after her. 

Dianne quickened her speed as much as her skirts would 
allow. 




DETECTIVE JOHKSOH OF NEW ORLEANS. 167 


But her pursuer quicHy covered the distance between 
them, and laid a detaining had on her shoulder. 

The poor frightened girl felt that, in such a neighbor- 
hood, her appeals for aid would be utterly ignored, yet she 
could not repress the scream of terror which arose to her 
lips. 

“ I beg your pardon, miss — 

The voice was not unkindly, and Dianne turned to rec- 
ognize in her captor — Reginald Prentiss. 

From abject terror to the heights of joy and confidence 
was such an abrupt transition that Dianne could not 
speak. 

She only clung frantically to the young man, as if she 
were drowning, and he, comprehending something of her 
emotions, did not press her with the questions that sprung 
to his lips. 

“ Frank he shouted, all unmindful of his surround- 
ings, and Streator came back at a pace which threatened 
the utter demolition of his dignity. 

“By Jove, Miss Lorraine!” the youth began volubly, 
when Reginald checked him, and he retreated a few paces. 

The shuffling young man who had been leading them 
down the street, came back, too, and he guessed the turn 
of affairs in an instant. 

“ 1 reckon yeVe found her, boss, an^ ye wonT need me 
no more,” he said. 

“Yes, thank you, I have,” replied Reginald. 

“ Then if yeTl hand me the five we\e '’greed upon, Fll 
be off, an'’ sorry Taint the twenty-five.” 

“ Here you are, and be off as soon as you like/’ replied 


168 DETECTIVE JOHKSOK OF KEW OELEAETS. 

Eeginald, thrusting a bill into the dirty, outstretched 
paw. 

The volunteer guide snatched the bill, and scanned it. 

“ Eeck^n ye may have made a mistake, boss. This here 
is a fiffcy-plunker. 

“ Never mind; take it with my compliments and be 
off/^ responded the young planter, impatiently. 

The young man needed no further instructions. Inside 
of a minute he was lost to sight. 

“ Oh, Mr. Prentiss, how you frightened me at first 
began Dianne, who had now recovered her power of 
speech. 

“ I shall be glad of opportunities to make amends in 
the future, responded Eeginald, gravely, yet with a trace 
of eagerness in his tone. 

“ I am safe again,^^ she murmured; “ thank Heaven — 
and you — shyly. 

“ Eest assured of your safety, Eeginald answered, with 
such overwhelming positiveness that, despite their late 
differences, Dianne would gladly have nestled her head 
against his breast. 

But the young planter would have defeated that inten- 
tion, even had she formed it, for he felt that the present 
was a time for speedy action. 

“We must get a cab at once,^^ he said, “ for you are 
not fit to walk, and the distance is too long. Prank, have 
the goodness to get the nearest carriage. We will wait 
l)ere until you return. 

“But supposing you are attacked here,^^ suggested 
Frank, solicitously. 


DETECTIVE JOHKSOH OF NEW OKLEANS. 169 


‘‘ I have Major Delaporte^s pistol, and am confident I 
can protect both myself and Miss Lorraine/^ 

1 reckon you can, old fellow; after all, but I won^t 
waste a moment/^ 

Streator was as good as his word. 

In a few minutes a carriage rolled up to the edge of the 
sidewalk and Frank jumped out. 

“ I had to get an open carriage, he explained, “but 
the night isn^t very cool, and I thought it best to take the 
first I came across. 

“ This one will do,^^ Eeginald answered, shortly. 

He helped his fair companion in and took a seat beside 
her. 

Streator considerately lighted a cigar and jumped up 
beside the driver. 

“ Tell him where to take us, Frank, Eeginald shout- 
ed, as they rattled away over the pavements. 

“ Where are we going?^^ questioned Dianne, breaking 
her long silence. 

“ Back to Major Delaporte^s. Is that not where you 
wish to go?’^ 

“Yes; have they been anxious on my account 

“ Could they have been otherwise. Miss Lorraine? 
They have had two detectives on your track ever since yes- 
terday morning. 

“ Was he one of them whom you were following down 
the street 

“ No; a fellow Frank and I ran across a little while ago, 
who thought he could take us to you.’’ 


170 DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF KEW OELEANS. 


“ And how came you to be looking for me^ Mr. Pren- 


“ Elsie sent me word you were in danger, and to come 
at once. Streator and 1 both answered the summons. I 
can not tell you how glad we are to have found you.^^ 

“ And why did you search for me at all?^^ asked the 
girl, looking up at him. 

Don’t you know?” was the counter-query trembling 
on Eeginald’s lips; but he did not speak, and Dianne real- 
ized that they stood on embarrassing ground. 

There was another fact which embarrassed Prentiss, al- 
though Dianne appeared utterly unaware of it. 

When they had first entered the carriage he had placed 
his arm around her to steady her, and she did not appear 
to notice it. 

Eeginald’s sense of honor told him that he was taking 
an unfair advantage of the woman who had rejected his 
love so short a while ago, and yet he did not see how to re- 
move his arm without making the removal palpable to 
her. 


Meanwhile, Streator was playing the part of the devoted 
and disinterested friend, sitting there on the box with the 
driver. 

He smoked and chatted with the Jehu, but never once 
turned to observe the pair on the rear seat of the barouche. 

“ I wouldn’t want any one looking at me,” thought 
Frank, “ if I were sitting so cozily with — ” 

The reflection ended in a puff of smoke of unusual vol- 
ume. 

The driver kept his horses going at a lively gait, and. 


DETECTIVE JOHIsSOK OF NEW OKLEANS. 


171 


ere long, his passengers found themselves riding through 
one of the handsome thoroughfares of the city. 

Coming down the street slowly, arm in arm, were two 
men, in whom the occupants of the carriage would have 
felt a lively interest had they observed them. 

They were Gasparde Lorraine, the gambler, and his no 
more reputable friend. Captain Linscomb. 

Evidently they were conversing earnestly, this precious 
pair of rascals, for, though they spoke in low tones, they 
were gesticulating a good deal, and their cigars had gone 
out unconsumed. 

‘‘'Fm sorry for the girl,^^ Linscomb was saying. ‘‘ It 
strikes me she is having a rough time of it for a lady born, 
but of course you know your own affairs best.^^ 

“ Truly spoken, Linscomb,^^ responded Lorraine. “ 1 
admit to you that the girl is suffering martyrdom, locked 
up in that vile hole; but it^s the only way to break her of 
so much spirit, and Carlin is my tool, and wonT dare to 
injure a hair of her head, even though I should decide to 
have her kept there a month. 

“ See here,^^ rejoined Linscomb, excitedly, “ you donT 
mean to tell me that you may keep the girl there a 
month?^^ 

“ And why not?^^ queried the other, coolly. 

“ See here, Gasparde, I am a friend of yours — 

“Admitted without argument, responded Lorraine, 
imperturbably. 

i, 

“ But ril be hanged if you shall keep your sister in that 
dirty den for four weeks. 

“ Why not?^^ 


172 DETECTIVE JOHNSOK OF NEW OELEANS. 

“ Because 1 have some rights in this matter.’^ 

“ What rights, please 

“ I^m going to marry the girl, and — 

“ That depends altogether upon how well you fall in 
with my plans,^^ was the gambler^s prompt but calm re- 
sponse. 

‘‘ See here, Lorraine, if I thought you meant to make a 
fool of me in this manner Fd — 

‘‘ Well, what?^’ asked Gasparde, with a coolness that 
aroused the ire of his companion. 

“ I^d let daylight through you/^ replied the captain, 
touching his pistol-pocket significantly. 

“ Little fear of that,^^ laughed Lorraine. “ 1 might as 
well tell you,^^ he added, “ that certain papers are still in 
existence which would send you to the gallows if pro- 
duced.^’ 

The captain started. 

“ But you know 1 am innocent of that affair,” he ex- 
postulated. 

“ Very true,” returned his companion, amiably, “ but 
the papers are so damaging that it would be next to impos- 
sible for you to establish your innocence in the face of 
them.” 

“ Where are they now?” demanded Linscomb. 

“Oh! safe enough; in the possession of the lawyer who 
has my will. When I die the papers will all be produced 
together, that is unless, by that time you have followed my 
wishes in every respect, and have also married my sister. ” 

Linscomb gnashed his teeth in silent rage. He could 


DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF KEW ORLEANS. 


173 


cheerfully have killed the man at his side, but, under the 
circumstances, it was certainly best to be politic. 

So the captain took another tack. 

“ My dear fellow, he said, persuasively, “my impa- 
tience to get on with the wooing had been the cause of this 
slight disagreement. Don^t you think it best, now, to call 
at Major Delaporte’s without delay? There, of course, 
you will learn that she has disappeared, and, equally of 
course, you will be terribly solicitous about her. Before 
daylight I can perform the heroic rescue of the distressed 
maiden, and then — 

“ In here, quick/’ whispered Lorraine, interrupting his 
friend, and pulling him into a door- way. 

“ What’s come over you?” questioned Linscomb, look- 
ing very much surprised, as, indeed, he was. 

“ Look there?” gasped Lorraine, hoarsely. 

The captain followed the direction of his companion’s 
eye. 

There was a jam of carriages in the street, and all were 
compelled to move along slowly for the time being. 

In an open barouche was, of all women, Dianne Lor- 
raine, and unmistakably supported on a man’s arm! 

“ Fiends of Hades!” whispered the captain in his com- 
panion’s ear. “ Some other fellow has made the rescue. 
Who is he?” 

“ That Prentiss fellow I fought the duel with,” mut- 
tered Gasparde, savagely. 

“ We mustn’t lose sight of them for a moment,” de- 
clared Linscomb. “ Come, they have got by now.” 


174 DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW ORLEANS. 

The captain seized his companion's arm and rushed him 
out into the street. 

The second carriage behind Dianne was empty, and evi- 
dently a public vehicle. 

The driver hauled up when he saw a possible “ fare of 
two gentlemen, and leaned over to receive his instructions. 

‘‘ Do you see that barouche — second carriage ahead?^^ 
asked the captain. 

The driver nodded. 

Very well, donT lose sight of it. Ten dollars if you 
keep it well in sight until that other driver puts down his 
■passengers.-’^ 

And the pair of conspirators jumped into the vehicle. 


DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW ORLEANS. 


t*j r 

./5 


CHAPTER XVIII. 

THE PURSUERS FOILED. — MORE PLOTTING. 

The carriage containing Dianne and her friends, having 
now got out of the press of vehicles, was bowling along at a 
lively rate. 

Gasparde and Captain Linscomb were following closely, 
and had the advantage of being in a covered carriage, 
which insured them freedom from recognition. 

‘‘ Are we going straight to Major Delaporte’s?^^ asked 
Dianne. 

“ As straight as we can go/’ answered Reginald, “ but, 
since we are in an open carriage and liable to recognition^ 
the driver has the admirable good sense to drive us there 
through side streets. 

The driver’s good sense ” was wholly attributable to 
Frank Streator’s shrewdness, for that young gentleman, 
serenely smoking on his high perch beside the driver, was 
very much awake. 

He believed thoroughly that Dianne’s brother was re- 
sponsible for her abduction, and he now hoped to escape 
the gambler’s vigilant eye by making a detour of more un- 
frequented streets. 

But, as we have seen, this idea did not occur to Frank 
until it was too late. 

However, the young man did notice that a solitary cab 
kept at a regular distance behind them, on streets where 


/ 


176 DETECTIVE JOHUSOK OF KEW ORLEANS. 

no other carriages were in sight, and his suspicions became 
quickly aroused. 

Long and earnestly did Frank gaze at the pursuing cab, 
and then determined to communicate his suspicions to his 
friend. 

“ Eeggy/^ he whispered, leaning back from the box, “ I ' 
am very sure that the cab behind us is following us, and 
has been for some time.^^ 

Prentiss turned in his seat and looked back. 

There could be no doubt that Streator^s conjecture was 
correct. 

“ It is true,^^ he said to Dianne. 

‘‘ What is true?^^ she asked. 

That we are being followed. 

‘‘ By whom?^’ — rather incredulously. 

Eeginald was about to answer when it occurred to him 
that the time was not favorable for explanations, so he 
changed his tack and said: 

“ I can better explain that to you later. Miss Lorraine. 
For the present will you trust me fully if 1 think best to 
alter the programme 

“ 1 will trust youfully,^^ answered Dianne, so unhesitat- 
ingly that her confidence in him went straight to his 
heart. 

Eeginald crossed to the other seat and stood up so that 
he could reach Streator^s ear. 

“ Frank, he said, “ you are right about our being fol- 
lowed. I must leave it in your hands to outwit our fol- 
lowers. It seems to me that we had better first go to the 
Delaporte^s house on Euggles Street. When the fellows be- 


DETECTIVE JOHNSOK OF NEW ORLEANS. 


177 


hind see us drawing up there they will naturally halt at a 
distance. Then have our driver whip up instantly, dash 
around the corner, and go through a perfect maze of side 
streets so rapidly as to throw the fellows behind us alto- 
gether oS the scent. 

“ Admirable,^^ commented Streator, “ and then — 

“ And then drive straight to the house of our friend 
Douglass on Eustis Street. 

“ An excellent idea,^^ assented Streator. “ Trust me to 
carry it out successfully.^^ 

“ What are you going to do?’^ questioned Dianne, when 
Eeginald had resumed his seat at her side. 

“ 1 am taking you to the home of friends of our family 
— that is, after we have outwitted our pursuers. 

“ And who are they — our pursuers, I mean?^^ 

Eeginald bit his lip. 

“ Wait until I have taken you to a place of safety. Miss 
Lorraine, and then I will send at once for Elsie. She will 
explain everything to you.'^^ 

Dianne wondered, but saw that her companion had no 
desire to explain, and so she remained silent. 

Her eyes began to open in astonishment, however, when 
she noticed that they were getting near the Delaporte 
mansion. 

“ I thought you intended to take me elsewhere?’^ she 
interrosfated. 

“So 1 do,’’ was the reply, “ but we must first throw 
those fellows off the scent.” 

Dianne felt that the whole affair was shrouded in some 


178 DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW ORLEANS. 

deep mystery. She was silent, but she watched the pro- 
ceedings with a deep interest. 

The carriage now rolled slowly up to the door of the 
Delaporte’s house, and Streator, watching the pursuing 
cab, saw it haul up abruptly at a considerable distance. 

Then began an exciting game of hide-and-seek. 

“ Quick! Whip your horses up and go around that cor- 
ner for all you are worth,^^ whispered Frank to the Jehu. 

The latter comprehended, and the whip shrieked 
through the air and stung the horses into a mad gallop. 

Around the corner whirled the carriage, with a lurch 
that nearly threw its occupants out. 

Streator, looking behind just as they turned, saw the 
other vehicle getting slowly under way. 

“ Turn down the next corner there,^^ Streator ordered 
the driver. 

Wo vehicle came into sight, nor could they hear the 
rumble of wheels. 

“ 1 think we have thrown them,^^ whispered Frank to 
his friend. “ Shall we proceed now?’^ 

“ By all means, and do it quickly,” was the reply. 

In a few minutes more the carriage had drawn up be- 
fore the Douglass house, on Eustis Street. 

To Mrs. Douglass Eeginald gave a hasty account of 
Dianne’s adventures, and she received the girl with the 
utmost friendliness. 

“ Go and get Elsie to come here,” Eeginnald desired of 
Frank. “At the same time present our apologies to 
Major and Mrs. Delaporte, and explain why we have taken 
the course that we have,” 


DETECTIVE JOHNSON* OF NEW ORLEANS. 


170 


Streator jumped into the barouche, rode to one of the 
main thoroughfares, and. then dismissed the driver. 

Walking a little distance down the street, he engaged a 
covered carriage, and was driven to the Delaporte mansion. 

The major and his amiable wife were in the library, and 
so was Elsie. All were waiting anxiously for news of the 
lost girl, and Frank^s story was eagerly listened to. 

“ 1 am sorry, said the major, when Frank had fin- 
ished, “ that you could not bring Miss Dianne back here, 
but I think you and Mr. Prentiss decided wisely after all. 
However, remember that as soon as this episode has blown 
over Miss Lorraine positively must return here and finish 
her visit. 

Frank replied that he had no doubt she would be most 
glad to do so, and then inquired of Elsie how soon she 
could be ready to accompany him to the house where 
Dianne had found temporary shelter. 

“ In a few minutes, Elsie replied, rising at once. 

“ 1 think it wise that your trunk and one of Mr. Lor- 
raine^s go with us,^^ he observed. 

“ They shall be ready, too,^^ Elsie answered, and hur- 
ried from the room. 

Frank had not long to wait before the trunks were 
strapped on behind the cab, and Elsie was ready to go to 
her friend. 

Streator noticed that no other vehicles were in sight, and 
ordered the jehu to drive as rapidly as possible, to pre- 
clude the possibility of any one following them on foot. 

That night Dianne and her bosom friend were reunited, 
and all in the house of Douglass were happy. 


180 DETECTIVE JOHNSOK OF NEW ORLEANS. 

The Douglasses, by the way, were old friends of the 
Prentiss family, and Dianne Lorraine, under the protec- 
tion of Eeginald and Elsie Prentiss, was made to feel her- 
self a welcome guest indeed. 

Gasparde and Captain Linscomb, when they saw the 
carriage draw up before the Delaporte mansion, were in an 
exultant frame of mind. 

“We have had our chase for nothing, observed Gas- 
parde, dryly. “We might have known that she would go 
there as a matter of course, for I doubt if she is acquaint- 
ed anywhere else in New Orleans. 

“ And this pleasant little undertaking of ours having 
failed, commented Linscomb, “ we must immediately 
put our heads together to devise something more cleverly 
original. 

“ Fiends take them growled Lorraine, who had kept 
his head out of the window all the while, “ they have fooled 
us. No one has alighted, and yet they are driving on 
again. 

Linscomb leaned hurriedly out of the window and saw 
that his friend^s statement was correct. 

“ Driver,^’ he shouted, “ follow that carriage, quick, 
and donT let them give you the slip or you lose your re- 
ward. / 

This potent appeal sent the horses attached to the cab 
flying along. 

But it was soon apparent that there was something 
wrong, for the speed of the cab was abated, and then it 
came to a standstill. 


N 


DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW OBLEANS. 181 

“ What^s the matter, driver?^’ demanded Linscomb, 
protruding his head from the window. 

“ They have given us the slip for sure, sir — canT even 
hear their wheels 

“ Maledictions!^^ groaned the captain. 

‘‘ Then I suppose' there is nothing for us to do but give 
up the chase for to-night, suggested Gasparde. 

This certainly was the only feasible course, and so it was 
adopted. 

The baffled and discomfited rascals were driven back to 
the Pelican Club, cursing their luck, or the absence of iG 
all the way. 

They found a table in as secluded a spot as they could, 
and sat down to consider the matter in hand. 

“ Here, Adolphus, called the captain to one of the 
slaves in attendance, “go to the steward and get a bottle 
of Bourbon as quick as you can.^^ 

“ Drink a few glasses of this stufi,^^ advised Linscomb, 
when the liquor was brought. 

“ Better far to leave the stuff alone, returned Gas- 
parde, pushing the proffered glass away from him. “ If 
you used less of it, Harvey, you would be in better shape 
to grapple with the mighty problem that confronts us.^^ 

The captain drained his glass, and then glared at his 
companion. 

“1 would, eh? Please tell me, my dear Gasparde, how 
you have distinguished yourself over me in this matter?^^ 

“ I didnT say that 1 had,^^ returned the gambler^ 
testily, “ but it is well for you to understand that we need 
clear heads, for prompt, decisive action is necessary now.^^ 


182 DETECTIVE JOHKSOK OF NEW ORLEANS. 


“ How SO?^^ 

“Prentiss will be your successful rivab if we don^t 
make all speed. 

“ I don’t understand you/’ granted the captain, gulp- 
ing down his third glass of whisky. 

“ Drink a little more of that beastly stuff and you won’t 
be able to understand anything or do anything/’ retorted 
Gasparde, angrily. 

“ Best thing in the world to brace me up!” declared 
Linscomb, suiting the action to the word by draining a 
fourth glass. 

“ Nonsense/’ roared Gasparde, angrily, and without an- 
other word he seized the bottle and emptied its contents 
into a cuspidore. 

“ What did you mean by that?” demanded the captain, 
rising to his feet. 

“ My meaning ought to be perfectly clear,” rejoined 
Lorraine, coolly. 

“ That’s my whisky.” 

“ It was.” 

“ And I paid for it with my own money.” 

“ 1 will pay you the price of it.” 

“ That doesn’t square it at all.” 

“ Sit down, Linscomb.” 

“ Confound you,” growled the captain, “ I’ll call yoir 
out!” 

“ Nonsense; sit down.” 

“ I’ll call you out, I tell you!” 

“ Go and call out Peyton,” retorted Gasparde, con- 


DETECTIVE JOHNSON OE NEW OELEANS. 183 


temptuously; “ the poor boy lives in terror of being forced 
to meet you on the field some day. 

“111 call you out; by George I will!’^ persisted the 
captain. 

“ Youll do nothing of the sort, and if you don’t sub- 
side at once I’ll wash you ofi my hands altogether. Sit 
down.” 

The captain glared at his friend and then obeyed. 

“ Adolphus,” called Gasparde, “ bring a glass of plain 
soda.” 

The captain looked unutterable things, but the soda was 
brought, and, after unavailing protests, he was induced to 
drink it. 

“ Now,” resumed Gasparde, “ we will talk of the mat- 
ter in hand. ” 

“ What do you propose to do?” questioned Linscombe, 
now thoroughly vanquished and subservient to his friend’s 
will. 

“Just this,” replied Lorraine: “ Dianne has no friends 
in New Orleans except the Delaportes. Therefore, it fol- 
lows that Prentiss has taken her to some of his friends. 
When she once learns of our share in the mishap, as 1 fear 
she will, then she will marry that Prentiss fellow at once. 
She is eighteen, and therefore old enough to marry without 
my consent as her guardian. Then 1 shall have to turn 
over her fortune, and our little plans are dished. ” 

Captain Harvey Linscomb listened while his companion 
proceeded to unfold the details of a most audacious plot. 


184 DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF HEW ORLEAHS. 


CHAPTEK XIX. 

AGAIH IH THE TOILS. 

Oh the morning of the day after Dianne^s escape from 
durance she received a call, at the Douglass house, from 
Messrs. Johnson and Farrar. 

The detectives seemed in nowise disconcerted over the 
fact that the young lady whom they had been employed to 
liberate had accomplished the liberation herself, and with- 
out their aid. 

“We learned of Major Delaporte that you had ‘ turned 
up ^ all right, and that you were stopping here,^^ began 
Johnson, who, as usual, acted as spokesman. 

“ Oh,^’ responded Dianne, “ you are the detectives who 
were engaged to learn my whereabouts and set me 
free!’^ 

There was a tinge of sarcasm in her tone which Detective 
Johnson did not by any means ignore, when he replied: 

“ New Orleans is a city of considerable size. Miss Lor- 
raine. To search it from one end to another is not an 
easy task. However, if you had not been so impatient to 
get free, we should have had the pleasure of rescuing you 
in due form. It was early in the evening when you made 
your escape; it was midnight when we reached the same 
place. You had flown, they told us, but we induced those 
very worthy people to make a restitution which may please 
you.^^ 


DETECTIVE JOH^ISON OF NEW ORLEANS. 


185 


As the detective spoke he drew from his breast-pocket a 
watch, several pieces of jewelry, and a purse. 

“ They are mine,^^ cried Dianne, picking them up and 
scrutinizing them delightedly. 

“ We should have taken you out of the house with those 
trinkets, had you not been so impatient, responded De- 
tective Johnson, with a good-humored twinkle of the eye. 

“ Why did those people abduct me and threaten to mur- 
der me?’^ asked Dianne, suddenl}% hoping to penetrate 
the mystery which enveloped the vdiole affiar. 

The reply which came was indeed a startling one to her. 

“ Your brother caused it all,^^ said Johnson, very calm- 
ly, and regarding the girl intently. 

“ My brother 

“ And a blackleg who calls himself Captain Harvey 
Linscomb.^^ 

“ Oh, 1 see it all,^^ exclaimed Dianne; but, nevertheless, 
she did not understand it as well as she wished. 

‘‘You call Captain Linscomb a * blackleg,^ she said, 
“ and 1 have been told that he comes of one of the best 
New Orleans families.^’ 

“You doubtless got your information from your 
brother,^^ replied Johnson, eying her very closely but 
somewhat covertly. 

“ It is true,^^ he went on, “ that Linscomb’s family was 
all that could be desired. When his father and mother 
were alive, twenty-five years ago, there were no more re- 
s|3ected people in the entire city, but their heir, the cap-' 
tain, has squandered both their fortune and their good 
name. Only Harvey Linscomb’s intimates have the au- 


186 DMEVTIYE JOUE^SON OF KEW ORLEANS. 

dacity to mention him and his family in the same 
breath.’^ 

‘‘ And yet Gasparde would have me marry this wretch/^ 
said Dianne aloud, though addressing herself. 

‘^Undoubtedly he would/^ replied Johnson, who heard 
her remark; “ and this leads me to say to you. Miss Lor- 
raine, that I have a most unpleasant duty to perform. 

Dianne looked at him wonderingly, while the detective 
went on to say: 

“ My colleague and myself have satisfied ourselves thor- 
oughly that you have a great deal to fear, both from your 
brother and this friend of his. I will say that they both 
appear to be thoroughly unscrupulous in their determina- 
tion to make you Mrs. Linscomb. Permit me to inquire 
if you have any property in your own right 

Dianne pondered a little over the advisability of answer- 
ing this question, but finally decided to do so. 

“ My brother is my guardian, she replied, “ and 1 be- 
lieve he holds something more than a quarter of a million 
in trust for me. 

“ That is the 'key to the whole affair, then,^’ responded 
Johnson, thoughtfully. “ Your brother is, I suspect, low 
in funds, and Linscomb has now only what he secures in 
nefarious ways. Pardon me for telling you. Miss Lor- 
raine, but I am convinced that they are scheming to get 
possession of your fortune to divide it between them.^’ 

Dianne did not look so astounded or stupefied at this in- 
formation as the detective had expected she would. 

She had been forced to believe that Gasparde was at the 
bottom of her abduction and imprisonment, and if a 


DETECTIVE JOHNSOK OF NEW OELEANS. 187 


brother could stoop so low was there any limit to what he 
might do? 

Neither could she be angry at the free manner in which 
the detective had discussed the case with her, for she CQuld 
not doubt the correctness of his discoveries. There was, 
too, a fatherly air about Detective Johnson. To her, at 
this moment, he seemed more like a valuable counselor 
than a paid spy. 

Dianne was wretchedly unhappy, and, as there seemed 
nothing more to be said, she sought to terminate the in- 
terview. 

“ If you will kindly state the amount of your bill for 
services,^’ she said, “ 1 will gladly pay it. 

Our bill. Miss Lorraine, is already paid.^^ 

“ By whom?^^ 

“ Major Delaporte.^^ 

‘‘ I do not understand you.^^ 

“It is quite easy of comprehension. Miss Lorraine,^^ 
said Johnson, rising as if to dejiart, in which movement he 
was imitated by his colleague. “ Major Delaporte, with a 
chivalry which does him credit, declares that his guests 
are at all times under his protection. It was as his guest 
that you disappeared so suddenly, and Major Delaporte 
felt that upon him, as your host, depended the task and 
expense of finding you. He begged me to explain this to 
you, and to set you entirely at ease in case you broached 
the matter. 

The detectives then took their leave, and Dianne, seizing 
her recovered possessions, hurried olf upstairs to Elsie. 

It was a wretched, unhappy day for Dianne Lorraine. 


188 DETECTIVE JOHKSOK OF KEW OKLEAKS. 

Her nature was loyal and truthful to the core^ yet she 
could not bring herself to doubt her brother's perfidy, and 
she feared the course he might adopt in the future. 

To Elsie she went for comfort, and in Elsie she found it. 

Never mind, darling, said that little woman. “ If 
Gasparde has really turned out in a^ disappointing light, 
you have still plenty of friends. You know how much you 
can count upon me, dear; and Major and Madame i)ela- 
porte, 1 really belie \re, love you as much as they could their 
own daughter. Then there is Eeggy — but perhaps you 
would rather I would not speak of him."^^ 

V 

He has been very kind to me,^^ murmured Dianne, 
sadly. ‘‘ At the very time when my brother had turned 
against me your cousin came to New Orleans and scoured 
the city to bring me back to freedom. Has he not been 
infinitely more kind and considerate to me than my own 
brother?^^ 

I hope you will continue to think so, dear; for Eeggy 
loves you better than his own life, and there isnT a truer 
man in all Louisiana than Eeginald Prentiss. 

‘‘ I have already told him 1 can not be his wife/^ replied 
Dianne, earnestly, “ but, believe me, Elsie dear, I will 
strive to be his friend as he has been mine.^^ 

The saddest and crudest words a man can hear from 
the woman he adores, said Elsie, sadly. 

“ Do you really think so?’’ asked Dianne, looking 
quickly at her friend. 

I do indeed, dear.” 

4 

“ Then I will really try to be as kind to him as I can, 


DETECTIVE JOHKSOISr OF KEW OELEAKS. 


189 


Elsie, and 1 will endeavor to be most considerate with him, 
for so good a man should not be wounded by any woman/^ 

Elsie would fain have urged her cousin^s cause upon her 
friend, but upon sober second thought she felt that time 
was needed more than argument. 

Later in the day Dianne had an 'opportunity to keep her 
promise. ^ 

She and Elsie had been chatting in the reception-room, 
when the latter left her for a few moments. 

Hardly had Elsie quitted the room when Eeginald en- 
tered. 

He looked surprised to see her, she thought, and not 
wholly overjoyed. 

But in this she was mistaken. Though he feared that 
he had lost her, the pain of the reflection was always over- 
whelmed by the joy of even looking upon that face so dear 
to him. 

It was the first time they had met during the day, and 
commonplaces were therefore in order. 

“ Good -morning. Miss Lorraine. You are, 1 hope, 
fully recovered from the fright I innocently and uninten- 
tionally caused you last night, when we met so strangely. 

His tone was courteous and grave, his words formal 
rather than familiar. 

Dianne did not aiDpear to notice this, for she responded 
cordially: 

“ The fright was only momentary, Mr. Prentiss, and 
was entirely overshadowed by the happy discovery that I 
was in the hands of friends whom I could fully trust. 
Had I not met you I fear I should have fallen again into 


190 DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW ORLEANS. 

the hands of enemies^ or^ worse still, 1 might have died of 
fright. 

“ Are you not still afraid — 

Eeginald paused. He was treading on dangerous 
ground. He had experienced unpleasantly Dianne^s loy- 
alty to her brother on a previous occasion, and he had 
stopped himself upon the verge of another mistake. 

“ He was about to refer to my brother, thought 
Dianne, “ but he is too noble and too thorough a gentle- 
man to do that. And then aloud : 

‘‘ Afraid of what, Mr. Prentiss?^^ 

Of the same scoundrel who spirited you away before. 
He has a double interest in it now, for he must use every 
possible effort to get you into his power again before you 
can furnish information to the police. 

Eeginald breathed easier when he had got safely over 
this dangerous spot. He felt that he had thrown her off 
the scent of his meaning, but in this he deceived himself. 

Dianne was convinced that Prentiss must be fully aware 
of her brother’s perfidy toward her, and she admired his 
gallantry. 

“No, 1 am not afraid for the future, for I shall take 
good care of myself,” she replied. “ But let us talk of 
something else, please. My recent adventure seems like a 
horrible nightmare, one that I shall be glad to forget. ” 

kSo they changed the subject and conversed freely for 
half an hour. 

Dianne was kind. She was more; she was cordial and 
gay, and did all she could to set him completely at ease. 

Eeginald was puzzled. He believed the girl to be the 


DETECTIVE JOHNSOi^ OF NEW ORLEANS. 191 


embodiment of purity and frankness, and could not bring 
liimself to believe that she was dissembling — a course ut- 
terly foreign to her nature. 

Did she know her brother's villainy? Yes, she surely 
did. Did she, then, repent her former answer to him, her 
lover? 

If Dianne could have known how she sent the blood 
coursing through his veins, if she could have realized the 
eager, feverish hopes that arose within him she might have 
been frightened. 

Several times Eeginald was on the point of again declar- 
ing his love for her — of pleading for a reconsideration and 
risking a more favorable verdict. 

But he was a gentleman at all times, and feelings of 
honor had pre-eminent consideration in his nature. 

Did she love him? Would she accept his love? 

These were questions which excited him to a fever height 
of hope and anxiety, yet he felt the time had not come 
when he could honorably declare his longings again. 

At last, when he could bear to be in her presence no 
longer, with these terrible questions surging through his 
brain, he arose, excused himself, and left the room. 

Dianne looked out of the window and saw that the day 
was nearly gone. It was time, then, to dress for dinner. 

She arose, and had nearly reached the door leading into 
the hall- way when two muffled figures stole in through the 
street door. 

With a horribly sickening feeling at heart she recognized 
the intruders. 

They were her brother and Captain Harvey Linscomb, 


DETECTIVE JOHNSOJI OF NEW ORLEANS 



Novv^ dear sister mine, make no trouble and you will 
be much better off/^ Gasparde whispered in her ear, as he 
roughly seized the frightened, shrieking girl. 

One terrified, unearthly scream left her lips, and then 
she was seized and carried bodily down into the street. A 
cab dashed up, she was forced in, and the other two en- 
tered. 

Slie saw Eeginald Prentiss rushing through the open 
door- way, closely followed .by Frank Streato^ and Mr, 
Douglass. 

The cab whirled rapidly away, and Dianne fell back in 
a dead faint in the arms of Captain Linscomb. 


DETECTIVE JOHKSOK OE KEW ORLEANS. 


193 


CHAPTER XX. 

ON BOARD THE GIRARD. 

It was a blank-looking trio that halted on the sidewalk 
before the Douglass mansion and gazed at the flying cab 
until it turned sharply around a corner near by. 

They did not stand there long, however. It was a time 
lor action, and not a moment was to be lost. 

“ That rascally brother of hers again,^^ muttered Frank 
Streator, but not loud enough for their host to overhear. 

Reginald stood still for a few moments, and was evi- 
dently lost in thought. 

At last he seized his friend’s r and declared, triumph- 
antly: 

“ 1 have it!” 

“ What do you mean?” quf;stioned Prank. 

“ Come in, quick, Frank, and get your hat and coat. 
Mr. Douglass, will you call a cab?” 

“ With pleasure,” responded their host, promptly } 

but if you can wait*! will have my own carriage in readi- 
ness. ” 

“ No, a cab will answer our purpose.” 

Very well; it shall be ready.” 

Prentiss and his friend hurried into the house, only to 
come out again almost immediately with their hats and 
coats on. 

Reginald led his host aside and whispered to him * 


194 DETECTIVE JOHKSON OF NEW ORLEANS. 

“ Douglass, my dear fellow, do me the favor not to let a 
word of this episode get outside of your house. It might 
cause a scandal about a young lady whose name I am most 
anxious to protect. 

“ Have no fear for us,^^ replied Douglass, warmly shak- 
ing hands with both young men. 

‘^Excuse us both to Mrs. Douglass,’^ requested Regi- 
nald, and then, amid profuse good wishes from their host, 
the young men piled into the cab. 

“ Treble fare to get us to the pier ten minutes be- 

fore the ‘ Girard ^ leaves, were magic words from Regi- 
nald, which sent the dilapidated conveyance rattling and 
bumping over the roads at a rate which threatened de- 
molition both to cab and occupants. 

“ Now what is your plan?’^ questioned Streator, as soon 
as he could make himself heard above the noise of the 
wheels. 

“ I am going to the steamer ‘ Girard.^ 

1 heard you direct the driver to that effect. What 
next?^^ 

^‘Here is the plan in a nutshell, Reginald went on: 
“The ‘Girard^ and the ‘Royal Abercrombie^ are the 
fastest steamers sailing up the river this winter. Both 
start for St. Paul to-night, at the same time. That means 
a race, and a desperately fast one. Now, it occurs to me 
that Lorraine, after his last experience, wonT care to take 
Dianne to any place in New Orleans, for fear weffl find 
her. The only way to get her any distance out of New 
Orleans to-night will be by one of these two steamers. 
Now, Frank, the ‘ Abercrombie ^ sails from the next pier 


DETECTIVE JOHIISON’ OF KEW ORLEANS. 


195 


to the ‘ Girard’s.^ When we get out of the cab 1 will 
watch the ‘ Girard/ you the ‘ Abercrombie.^ Unless you 
are not positively satisfied that our party is not going on 
the ‘ Abercrombie/ you take passage on her, and I will go 
by the ‘ Girard. ^ 

“ In case we get separated, and you find out where they 
have taken Dianne, telegraph all particulars to Elsie. If 
I find nothing, I will wire her to send me the particulars 
of your dispatch. Do not lose sight of the place to which 
they take her, and as soon as I hear where you are 1 will 
join you. In case the poor girl is on the ‘ Girard,^ and 
you can not find me, 1 will wire Elsie instead and reverse 
the programme. Is it all clear to you?^^ 

“ An excellent plan,^^ assented Frank. 

The cab rolled on to the pier, and the driver opened 

the door. 

‘‘We are here nearly twenty minutes ahead of time, 

• ^ > 
sir. 

“ Very well; here’s your pay.” 

The two friends alighted and were about to separate, ac- 
cording to their arrangement, when Eeginald grasped his 
friend’s arm. 

Another cab had drawn up on the pier at a little dis- 
tance from them, and a couple of men got out, carrying 
the inanimate form of a woman between them. 

“ Dianne, as I live!” muttered Eeginald. 

“ They are going to take her aboard the “Girard,”’ 
observed JStreator. 

“ Undoubtedly.” 

“ Then we will not separate.” 


19 C DETECTIVE JOHIISON' OF KEW ORLEANS. 

“ No; we will go aboard the ‘ Girard ^ together. 

“ Now?^^ 

“ No; wait until the last moment, so that that precious 
pair of scoundrels will not take alarm and change their 
plans. 

The two friends waited until the gang-plank was about 
to be drawn ashore, and then clambered aboard. 

“Wait here, for the present, directed Eeginald. 

They therefore remained in the gangway until the boat 
was well out in the stream. 

At the same time they noticed that the steamer “ Eoyal 
Abercrombie had cast off, and was standing up the 
stream. 

What promised to be a memorable race to St. Paul was 
now well under wav. 

The steamers, as soon as they were well out in the 
stream, forged ahead at unwonted speed. 

Dense, black clouds of smoke poured from the smoke- 
stacks, bells were constantly clanging, whistles blowing; 
the officers of either boat, stationed at their posts, shouted 
orders in stentorian tones. The captain of each steamer 
occupied the place of chief command on the bridge, and it 
was evident to all that neither boat would be held back in 
the great race through negligent handling or overpru- 
dence. 

The river in that locality was alive with small craft 
filled with people who had come to see the start. 

It was already dark and a moonless night, but the stars 
twinkled everywhere, and the cool, crisp air made it glori- 
ous on deck. 


DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW ORLEANS) 197 


I am beginning to share the excitement of this thing/^ 
said Streator^ enthusiastically. ‘‘ I believe the ‘ Girard ^ 
will win, old man, and to show you my confidence in her, 
I’d like to lay you a wager of two to one.” 

We’ll discuss that later,” answered Eeginald, some- 
what impatiently. “ At present we have more important 
affairs on hand.” 

“ So we have, old man, so we have,” returned Frank, 
contritely. “ I beg ten thousand pardons, Eeggy, and, to 
show my penitence. I’ll do anything you desire.” 

“We must get a state-room now, if we intend to at all,” 
said Prentiss, but that was by no means the real purpose 
he had in hand. 

The young men made their way to the clerk’s office, and 
Eeginald inquired if any state-rooms remained. 

“ A few, sah,^’ answered the clerk, glibly. “ Where 
will you have it, sah?” 

“ Let me see the list,” replied Prentiss. 

The clerk pushed it forward, and Eeginald scanned it 
intently. 

“ You have a young lady on board?” he questioned. 

“ Several, sah,” replied the clerk, with a grin. 

“ But this one is ill.” 

“Yes, sah; young gentleman takin’ his sick sister 
home. Carries a doctor along to look after her until they 
get home.” 

“ I saw them on the pier,” Eeginald went on, in a tone 

4 

that was intended to be somewhat listless, “ and 1 had a 
little cuiiosity to know who they were. Thought I recog- 
nized them as old friends. ” 


198 DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW OKLEANS. 

“ There’s their names, sah.” 

Eeginald looked at the place indicated by the clerk’s 
pencil and read : 

“ Mr. Paul Stowell and sister. Doctor Amos North.” 

“ Ah, they are traveling under assumed names,” 
thought Eeginald, as he mentally noted the number of the 
state-rooms of the party. 

‘‘ Has the young lady far to go?” he questioned, more 
listlessly than before. 

“ All the way to St. Paul. Shall I send in your cards 
to either of the gentlemen, sah?” 

“No; 1 was mistaken. 1 am not acquainted with either 
of them.” 

Eeginald secured a state-room at a considerable distance 
from- those occupied by the Lorraines and Captain Lins- 
comb, and then turned to Prank. ' 

“ They are on board, and I know where they are quar- 
tered,” he whispered, exultantly, to Streator, and then 
gave his friend the information he had gleaned from the 
clerk. 

Dianne and her captors were, indeed, on board. 

Soon after the hack had started away from the Douglass 
mansion she showed signs of returning consciousness. She 
struggled and murmured in a drowsy way. 

“ Get your sponge ready, my dear Gasparde,” requested 
the captain. 

Lorraine produced a sponge and vial of chloroform. 
Wetting one end of the sponge with the fluid, he pressed it 
to his sister’s nostrils. 


DETECTIVE JOHI^’SON OF NEW ORLEANS. 


199 


The murmuring and struggling ceased^ and the girTs 
tace took on an ashen hue. 

“ She^ll sleep all right now until we get her out on the 
river/^ commented the captain, jubilantly. 

Dianne was insensible when she was carried aboard from 
the pier, and did not recover consciousness for some time 
after the boat had started. 

When she at last opened her eyes she found herself in a 
strange place and could not immediately account for it. 

The room was in darkness, but a little light shone feebly 
through the ground-glass pane of the door. 

Struggling to recollect what had happened, she arose to 
a sitting posture in the berth. 

“ Ah, my dear sister, you have recovered, eh?’^ 

She could not see the speaker, whose face was obscured 
in a dark corner of the state-room, but she recognized the 
voice as belonging to her brother. 

Then all the events of her abduction came back to her, 
and she sprung to the floor, confronting him with blazing 
eyes. 

“ Gasparde, what does this strange outrage mean?^^ she 
cried, and her tones were so hoarse and frenzied that even 
she was startled by the change. 

‘^It means,^^ replied the young man, imperturbably^ 
“ that a young lady^s best friend is her brother and guard- 
ian, whom she should respect and obey in all things. 
When she doesnT — meaningly — “then she should be 
prepared to pay the penalty of her misconduct.'’^ 

“ Let me free at once, that 1 may return to Kew Or- 



200 DETECTIVE JOHNSOK OF NEW OKLEANS. 


leans from the first stopping-place,” she demanded, im- 
periously. 

She realized by this time that she was on a steamboat, 
and correctly conjectured that it was bound up the river. 

Gasparde laughed ‘Sardonically. 

‘‘ My dear sister/^ he replied, “ you do not appear to 
realize how impossible that would be. Your immediate 
future is too fully mapped out to admit of the least altera- 
tion of my plans. ” 

“ Where are you taking me — where are you going to 
take me?’^ she demanded, defiantly. 

Gasparde ’s only reply was to light a cigar and puS it in- 
dolently. 

“ Let me out at once!^^ she cried. Let me out of this 
room and cease to molest me, or I shall scream out and 
appeal to the chivarlry of the gentlemen on board!” 

Gasparde laughed brutally. 

‘‘ How many do you imagine you would find to take 
your part?” he inquired, sneeringly. 

“ Any and every one to whom I appeal,” she replied, 
hotly. 

‘‘ Bah! No one thinks of taking the part of a maniac 
against her lawful keepers, even though she be beautiful.” 

Maniac! That one word revealed to Dianne a world of 
terrible fiendish meaning. Did Gasparde, then, mean to 
shut her up in a madhouse? She reeled, and clutched at 
the berth to steady herself. 

Gasparde ’s keen, penetrating eye saw the effect of his 
words, and he was not slow to follow up the advantage he 
had gained. 


DETECTIVE JOHKSOK OE KEW O. 


“ Yes^ my dear sister/^ he resumed, calmly, 
young lady refuses so excellent and desirable a husb,. 

I have picked out for you, no reasonable person could ha 
a doubt of her insanity. All the details are arranged. A 
place in the North, a small private asylum, is in readiness 
for you, and there you will remain in seclusion until you 
are ready to fall in with my matrimonial views for you. 
The officers of this boat believe you to be a maniac, and, 
though 1 turned you loose to run over the boat, you will 
find yourself hopelessly in my power. I have a physician 
with us. 1 will summon him now.^^ 

Gasparde rapped on the partition, and soon there came 
an answering rap at the door. 

The gambler inserted a key in the lock, turned it, and 
admitted Captain Harvey Linscomb. 

“ Has our patient changed her mind?^^ inquired the 
captain, with mock geniality. 

“ Ask her directly,^^ was Gasparde^s response. 

“ May I hope to address you in the future as Mrs. Lins- 
comb questioned the captain, insinuatingly. 

Dianne looked at him so steadily that the rascal quailed 
under her scornful gaze. 

Never, though I suffer all the tortures of an earthly 
hell first she replied, in a clear, unwavering tone. 

Gasparde looked knowingly at the captain. 

“ Is there any hope for the patient?’'^ he asked, mean- 
ingly. 

“ None,^’ was the emphatic response. “ She is hope- 
lessly insane. My brother physician in Minnesota will re- 


. E JOHNSOl^' OF NEW ORLEANS. 


without question, and take the best of care of 

Jianne looked searchingly from one scoundrel to the 
other. 

In their faces she read only hard, unalterable purpose. 
There was no hope, except on one condition, and that con- 
dition she would much rather die than fulfill. 

With a low, despairing cry, she fell back into the berth 
in a swoon resembling death itself. 


\ 







i 


DETECTIVE JOHNSOIT OF iTEW ORLEANS. 203 


CHAPTER XXL 

INAWFULPERIL. 

“You have found her,'’^ said Frank Streator, as he fol- 
lowed his friend away from the purser^s office; “now, 
what are you going to do about it?^^ 

“ Nothing, certainly, for the next half hour,^^ was the 
answer. 

“ Why any delay 

“ For the best of reasons, my boy. This is a matter in 
which we do not care to act hurriedly and rashly. It 
might prove disastrous to our plans. 

“ What first, then?^^ ^ 

“ Dinner. 

“ Dinner!’^ ejaculated the young man in astonishment. 
“Well you are about the coolest fellow 1 ever knew, 
Reggy. Why, if the woman of my heart were in danger 
like Miss Lorraine’s I couldn’t eat, sleep, or even rest, 
until she was well out of it. Dinner! Why, even I have 
no appetite for that, while my friend’s beloved is in the 
clutches of two designing rascals.” 

“ That sentiment does more credit to your heart than to 
your head,” rejoined Prentiss, with a faint attempt at a 
smile. “But come and let us try to eat. 1 will explain 
everything afterward.” 

“ If you really intend to eat, you apj)ear to have lost 
your wits,” replied Streator. “You are walking straight 
away from the dining-room,.” , 


204 DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW OELEANS. 

A 

r 

“ For good reasons. Follow me and you will see.^^ 

Eeginald led the wondering boy straight to the state- 
room he had engaged. 

Frank followed him into the apartment, and Prentiss 
closed the door. 

Then he pulled off his coat in a leisurely fashion, a 
course in which Streator imitated him after awhile. 

“ There’s the basin and a pitcher of water; wash up 
while I ring for the waiter.” 

Frank obeyed, the waiter came, and dinner was ordered 
to be served in the state-room. 

Eeginald washed his face and hands, combed his hair 
with much precision, and waited patiently for the return 
of the waiter with the dinner. 

^ Both put in an appearance a little later. 

After the edibles had been spread on a small table Pren- 
tiss informed the waiter that he might depart. 

The two friends fell to and attacked the viands. Frank, 
despite the expression of laudable sentiments a quarter of 
an hour ago, proved himself possessed of a very good ap- 
petite which did great justice to the tempting dinner. 

“ Oh, I see what you mean by eating in here,” Streator 
at length broke in. “ You didn't care to go into the din- 
ing-saloon, for fear of recognition by the enemy.” 

‘‘ Your penetration does you credit, Frank.” 

“ But am I not right?” 

“ Yes.” 

‘‘ You hope by this course to keep out of sight of Lor- 
raine and Linscomb.” 


“ That is my desire for the present.” 


DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW ORLEANG. 205 

“ Then 1 fear you are not altogether shrewd, Eeggy/^ 

“ Why not?^^ 

“ Because if either of those fellows suspects that he may 
have been followed he has only to go to the clerk^’s 
office and find our names on the state-room list/’ 
Eeginald^s brow clouded. 

“ Frank/^ he returned, “ I owe you a statement, an ex- 
planation, an apology, whichever you prefer. When 1 en- 
gaged our state-room 1 felt obliged, whether wisely or not, 
to adopt a course which is always repugnant to gentle- 
men.^^ 

A light of intelligence dawned in Streator^s face. 

You mean you registered fictitious names?^’ 

“ I did. I felt it best, under the circumstances, to fight 
these rascals with their own weapons, for they are reg- 
istered under names not their own. 

Frank seized his friend’s hand and pressed it warmly. 

“ Eeggy,’^ he declared, “I would trust you with my 
life, my honor. Make no explanation or apology for a 
course so obviously wise as that.” 

They finished, and Eeginald announced: 

“ I will send the waiter for cigars.” 

“ No, don’t do that. 1 have plenty with me, and bet- 
ter than we can get from the steward.” 

Eeginald accepted one, lighted it, and then drew on his 
overcoat. 

“ Going outside?” asked Frank. 

“Yes.” 

“ But we will find no privacy there. Half the passen- 
gers will be outside to see how the race goes along.” 


206 DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF KEW ORLEANS. 

“ I will take you to a place where we are not likely to 
find many people/^ Prentiss answered. 

He went directly aft^ and up the after companion-way, 
to the hurricane-deck. 

“ Whew!^^ muttered Frank with a shiver. ‘‘ It^s colder 
than Greenland up here.’^ 

“ That^s just why I came here.^^ 

Streator stared at his companion, while the latter ex- 
plained : 

“ As you said, half of the passengers are likely to be 
outside, to see how we are getting along with the ‘ Aber- 
crombie. But there are few of us Southerners who could 
stand half an hour up here, where the breeze is so brisk. 

“ 1 should say not,^^ muttered Prank, who had already 
turned several shades of blue, and who was shiveriug as if 
with an acute atjback of the ague. 

The wind was, indeed, cold and penetrating, and the 
hurricane-deck of the “ Girard was a place where they 
were calculated to get the full force of it. 

Eeginald watched his shivering, shaking companion for 
a few moments, and felt tempted to laugh, but compas- 
sionately refrained. 

“ Come, my boy,^^ he said, “ I will show you a warm 
place. 

“For Heaven^s sake do,^^ entreated Streator, in as 
steady a tone as his chattering teeth would permit. 

Eeginald found a couple of stools, and, going forward, 
placed them close to the smoke-stacks. 

“ Happy thought!’^ ejaculated Streator, taking his seat 


DETECTIVE JOHNSON- OF NEW OELEANS. 207 


with alacrity and spreading out his hands toward the near- 
est of the three smoke-stacks. 

It was not long before both had warmed themselves in 
this way and Streator found voice to inquire: 

“ Now, Eeggy, tell me what you propose to do in this 
matter which has brought us here.^^ 

Prentiss looked around to make sure there was no one 
within hearing. 

“ There^s no one within hearing, Eeggy. The only 
other living soul on this deck besides ourselves is that 
officer on the bridge. We won’t trouble him, and he 
won’t molest us.” 

“ Well, then, I don’t know what I am going to do,” re- 
plied Prentiss, dejectedly. 

“ That’s a brilliant plan,” commented Streator, sarcas- 
tically. “ But can’t you devise a better one than that?” 

“ I’m afraid not, at present.” 

Well, then, 1 can, and 1 am ashamed of you, Eeggy.” 

“ Let us have your plan,” replied Prentiss, hopefully. 

“It is the one that would occur to any wide-awake 
man,” declared Frank, earnestly. 

“ Yes; but let us have it.” 

“ Well, just this: You know the number of the state- 
room in which Miss Lorraine is confined. All we have to 
do is to go down there and let her out. We have our re- 
volvers and can make it interesting for any pair of black- 
guards who attempt to stand in our way.” 

“ Is that the only way you see out of it?” asked Pren- 
tiss, despondently. 

“ Doesn’t that answer the purpose well enough?” an- 


208 DETFXTIYE JORKSON" OF KEW ORLEANS. 

swered Streator, warmly. “ And if we find we have more 
on hand than we can accomplish together, there are plenty 
of gentlemen abroad who could be relied upon to assist in 
rescuing a lady from such a pair of scoundrels as Linscornb 
and Lorraine. 

Eeginald deliberated for awhile, but the cloud of de- 
spondency which had settled on his face did not scatter. 

“ Frank, your plan is too vision ary, he said, finally. 

Streator looked aghast at this charge, but his compan- 
ion, unheeding him, went on: 

‘‘ Gasparde Lorraine would ask for nothing better than 
to have us act up to the course you have suggested. He 
is Dianne^s brother, and not only that, but her legally 
constituted guardian. Now, if I were to adopt the course 
of rescue which you suggest, it would place both you and 
me in the very awkward predicament of kidnappers. 
Dianne is in the custody of her legal guardian, and the 
courts would sustain him, to our cost.^^ 

Eeggy, I didn^t know you could be so prudent, so — I 
don^t know what to call it,^^ Frank burst in vehemently. 

“ Is ‘ cowardly ^ the word you want?’^ queried Eegi- 
nald, quietly. 

“ It is a word I should hate to apply to so brave and 
loyal a friend as you are,^^ returned Frank, in a more sub- 
dued tone. 

“ You know me better than to suspect me of mere ph}^s- 
ical cowardice, Eeginald made ansvver. “ But if we were 
to follow your course, Frank, Gasparde Lorraine could 
have us both arrested and imprisoned for terms of a few 
years apiece. As I hinted before, he would like it only too 


DETECTIVE JOHIISOII OF KEW ORLEANS. 


200 


well, and I shall take pains that he does not gain that ad- 
vantage/^ 

“ Then what do you propose to do?^^ 

“We must watch the gangway at every landing-place. 
When we see him go ashore we will go too and find out 
where he takes Dianne. Then we must find some means 
of enabling her to get out of his power, without laying our- 
selves liable to punishment as kidnappers. 

“ Then you have no exact plans for the present. asked 
Streator. 

“ No; we must plan as occasion arises. 

The discussion being ended for the present, the two 
friends lighted fresh cigars and turned to watch the excit- 
ing race in which the two mighty steamers were engaged. 

Up to this point the “ Koyal Abercrombie and the 
“ Mabel Girard had kept well along together. They 
were about a sixteenth of a mile apart, and each was light- 
ed up so well from stem to stern that everything passing 
on one boat was plainly discernible to the people on the 
other. 

Both steamers were straining to get the lead, and now 
it was apparent that the “ Abercrombie was gradually 
gaining. ^ 

The officer on the bridge of the “ Girard was the first 

V 

to notice this, and through the tube leading to the engine- 
room he roared: 

“ The other boat is leading us! Crowd on every pound 
of steam sheTl bear!^^ 

It was evident that the command had been obeyed, for 
the smoke-stacks shook and roared under the increasing 


210 DETECTIVE JOHNSOI^ OF NEW ORLEANS. 


clouds of black smoke which poured skyward from the 
furnaces. 

It grew so warm around the funnels, in fact, that Pren- 
tiss and Streator were compelled to move their stools a few 
feet away. 

Still the “ Abercrombie gained more and more of a 
lead as the moments slipped by. 

The officer on the bridge put his lips once to the tube- 
and shouted : 

“ She^s still gaining on us! Croiod on more steam 

The order was obeyed. The deck shook as if there was 
a raging volcano beneath, instead of furnaces. 

Again and again the two friends were compelled to move 
away from the smoke-stack, as its proximity grew hotter 
and hotter. 

Loud cheers came from the decks of the “ Abercrom- 
bie as she forged nobly ahead, and these were answered 
with groans from the passengers huddled on the lower 
decks of the Girard. 

Then flash after flash could be seen from the decks of 
the Abercrombie,^^ followed by volley upon volley of re- 
ports. 

“ What^s that for?^^ inquired Streator, who, thoroughly 
aroused to the excitement, was standing upright on his 
stool. 

“ Oh, some overenthusiastic fools are emptying their 
revolvers as a salute in honor of the ‘faster boat,’^ said 
Prentiss, contemptuously. 

Orders for ‘ ‘ more steam were shouted down the tube 
until the officer seemed frenzied. 


" DETECTIVE JOHNSOK OF NEW ORLEANS. 211 

Tteginald, turning suddenly, saw that the smoke-stacks 
had ignited to a red heat. 

‘‘ This is getting desperate/^ he said, calling his friend^s 
attention to the discovery. ‘‘ At this rate the boilers can^t 
hold out much longer. 

The officer on the bridge had apparently not noticed the 
condition of the smoke-stacks, so Eeginald called out to 
him: 

“ Look at this red heat, sir. How much longer can the 
boilers stand such a pressure?^^ 

“ Eeck^n the officers and engineers of this boat know 
how to run her,^^ was the cold response from the bridge. 

^Nevertheless the mate shouted through the tube: 

“ Pass the word for the captain to come on deck at 
once!^^ 

The captain came. The two officers examined the red- 
hot smoke-stacks, and then consulted apart. 

One look at the commander’s grave, almost terrified 
face confirmed Eeginald’s worst fears. 

He clutched Streator’s- arm, and whispered hoarsely in 
his ear: 

“My God! Even the officers do not' believe that the 
boilers can hold out much longer. And my darling is 
aboard in all this awful peril!” 


212 DETECTIVE JOHKSOI^- OF NEW ORLEANS. 


CHAPTER XXII. 

THE FATE OF THE “ GIRARD. 

“ Do you really think it is as bad as that?^^ inquired 
Streator^ after a moment ^s mournful pause. 

“ There is no doubt about it/^ answered Reginald, des- 
pairingly. ‘‘ For my own life I do not care,- but it is hor- 
rible, terrible to think of the fate in store for poor Di- 
anne. 

At this moment the captain^s voice was heard from the 
bridge. 

He was issuing an order to the engineer through the 
tube. 

“ Slacken speed at once. The steamer is in danger from 
her boilers. The smoke-stacks up here are red hot.^’ 

“ Do you hear that. Prank demanded Prentiss, 
hoarsely. 

His face was blanched — not through fear for his own 
safety, but for that of the woman who was all dear to him, 
and who unwittingly shared his and the general peril. 

Evidently the engineer below had answered the captain, 
for the latter shouted through the tube once more: 

“ You had no right to take orders from any one — not 
even me — to put on more jDressure than the boilers could 
stand. If there is an explosion, then by the heavens 
above I will kill you if we both escape the wreck 

Then the captain turned to the mate beside him on the 
bridge, and said sternly: 


DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW ORLEANS. 


213 


“You may be less guilty than the engineer, Mr. Culver, 
for you have not the same knowledge of the resisting pow- 
ers of the boilers that he is supposed to have. Neverthe- 
less, 1 doubt if a court of inquiry would hold you blameless 
in case of accident. Now, sir, go below, and I will take 
your place up here. In case of an accident, which I seri- 
ously fear, then you must do your best, as an officer of this 
boat to secure the safety of all the women and children 
who may be spared. See that they get ashore, even at the 
cost of your life and that of every man of the crew.'^^ 

“ I may be a fool. Captain Plaistow, but 1 am no cow- 
ard, replied the mate between set teeth. “ 1^11 not leave 
the boat, sir, in case of accident, until you do.^^ 

“ What is the extent of the danger, sir?^^ questioned 
Prentiss, stepping forward out of the shadow of the pilot- 
house, where he and Streator had been screened from the 
eyes of the officers. 

“ What the d — 1 are you doing up here on the hurricane- 
deck?^^ demanded Captain Plaistow, savagely, taken back 
at the fear that a general alarm was likely to be raised 
throughout the boat. 

Keginald perceived this, and answered diplomatically: 

“ 1 am not here for the purpose of making trouble, sir, 
and I am not likely to lose my head. 1 asked because 
there are those on board who are dear to me.^^ 

The captain heard him patiently for a man \^o is in mo- 
mentary expectation of seeing his boat blown sky-high in 
pieces. 

“ There is danger,^^ returned the captain briefly. “ We 
may have an explosion at any moment, but I hope for the 


214 DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW ORLEANS. 

best. Mr. Culver/^ to the mate, ‘‘ hurry below and see 
that the different boat^s crews are sent to their posts as 
quietly as possible. Avoid any movement or word that 
may be calculated to start a panic among the passengers. 
Gentlemen/^ to Prentiss and Streator, “ 1 rely upon your 
discretion. 

“You shall find your reliance well placed, sir,^^ was Eeg- 
inald^s answer. 

The mate had already gone below to carry out his in- 
structions, and Eeginald and his friend went down also, 
leaving the captain alone on the hurricane-deck. 

Frank Streator, boy though he was, and an impulsive 
one at that, was no coward. He knew his own peril and 
that of every one on board, but in this crisis his only 
thought was how he could serve his friend. 

When they reached the main- deck they heard one of the 
male passengers impatiently say: 

“ Confound this boat, any way! I took passage on her 
because 1 thought her the faster, but the “ Abercombie 
is long out of sight around a bend in the river, damme if 
she ainT!’^ 

Eeginald could not, for the life of him, refrain from 
pausing long enough to frown angrily at this fellow, and 
then he strode down the saloon. 

Frank followed faithfully at his friend^s heels. 

“ What are you going to do, Eeggy?^^ he inquired. 

“ Find Dianne^s state-room. 

“ Do you know where it is?’^ 

“Yes, 1 know the number. 

“And then what?^^ 


DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW ORLEANS. 


215 


Get; her out and take her to the very stern of the boat 
— the furthermost point from the engines. 

“ I have a better idea than that. Get life-preservers for 
all of us and drop overboard. Then if we have no explo- 
sion, we can at all events get her ashore, and outwit our 
enemies. 

Good! Get the life-preservers,^^ was Eeginald^s terse 
response. 

He paused before a state-room door, and made sure that 
the number was right. 

Knocking, he listened a few moments in silence. 

There was no immediate response, and, without wasting 
valuable time for consideration, Eeginald put his shoulder 
to the door and exerted all his strength to burst it open. 

It yielded, and he found himself in the presence of Di- 
anne Lorraine. 

She regarded him with a frightened look until she rec- 
ognized him, and then she flew to his arms with a wild cry 
of joy. 

“ Quick, dearest! There is danger,’^ he whispered to 
her. “Do as 1 ask you, and no questions until we are 
safe.^^ 

She comprehended instantly that something was sadly 
amiss, and that in her lover lay her only hope of escape 
from the threatening danger. 

Frank came up at that moment with three life-preserv- 
ers. Eeginald first adjusted one upon Dianne, then he 
and Streator attended to their own needs. 

When all was completed he took her hand in his, and 
whispered: 


216 DETECTIVE JOHlSrSOK OF NEW OKLEANS. 

“Follow me, dearest, and obey me implicitly. I can 
save you.^^ 

She noddingly acquiesced with a trustful glance that 
thrilled the young man through and through. 

Reginald led her through the saloon, down a flight of 
stairs, and out toward the stern of the boat. 

Their fellow-passengers, who noticed the life-preservers 
in which they were incased, manifested lively amusement 
and curiosity, but seemed wholly unaware that there 
might be some real danger lurking near at hand. 

With all the speed possible the trio rushed through the 
lower saloon, and out upon the deck near the very stern. 

“ Here, Frank, help me to lower Miss Lorraine into the 
water, requested Prentiss; and this they accomplished, 
taking care to do it in such a way that their precious 
charge was in no danger of being drawn under the boat, 
or the equally great peril of being struck by the ponderous 
stern wheel. 

» 

Without a moment^s hesitation the young men sprung 
into the water after Dianne. The poor girl had accepted 
all their treatment with unquestioningly passive compliance. 
She believed it to be a bold stroke to secure her freedom, 
and one that necessarily must be done quickly to avoid 
detection by her brother. 

That their movements had not escaped this detection 
was soon apparent, for hardly had the trio found them- 
selves safely clear of the swash of the boat than Gasparde 
Lorraine and Captain Linscomb appeared on almost the 
identical spot from which they had leaped. 


.n 


DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW ORLEANS. 217 

Both held pistols in their hands, and all three could 
hear Gasparde shout to his confederate: 

“You shoot the boy, Linscomb, and I will attend to the 
other fellow. 

Prentiss and Streator, who were supporting Dianne on 
either side, knew full well that they were within range of 
the weapons. With a chivalry that did honor to their nat- 
ures, they both struck out in opposite directions, making 
strong efforts to place themselves at such a distance from 
her that she would be in no danger of being hit by mistake. 

But at this juncture the strong hand of Providence inter- 
posed in a terrible manner. 

All that has been related occurred in an incredibly short 
space of time. 

The engineer of the “ Mabel Girard had made frantic 
efforts to lower the pressure of his boilers, but all to no 
avail. The mischief had gone too far to be undone, and 
just at the moment when Lorraine and Linscomb were on 
the point of taking a cowardly advantage of their enemies 
in the water, the crisis came. 

There was a terrific crashing sound in the engine-room, 
followed by an awful thunderous report. The steamer 
seemed rent asunder, and the groans of the wounded and 
dying mingled with the frightened shrieks of those of the 
passengers who had escaped uninjured. 

It was so dark upon the river that the catastrophe was 
but dimly seen by the trio struggling in the water, but the 
flying cUhris fell about them in all directions. It was a 
wonder that none of the three were injured, but such was 
the case* 


218 


DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW ORLEANS. 


Whenever the shrieks on the “ Girard subsided mO' 
mentarily, the loud, hoarse issuing of orders could be 
heard, which showed that the officers of the boat had their 
wits about them. 

Boats were lowered, and the people jumped into them, 
sinking the gunwales almost to the level of the water, and 
scrambling about in such a way as to threaten immediate 
capsizing. The first two boats were actually overturned, 
but the inmates were rescued from a watery grave. 

“ Go to the rescue, pleaded Dianne. “ I can not sink, 
and can easily propel myself to the land over there. 

The land to which she pointed was a long, low, wooded 
island, toward which such of the boats as had got under 
way were now making. 

“ Are you perfectly sure you can get there unaided 
asked Eeginald, solicitously. 

“ Positive. Please go. There must be some in the 
water who can be saved. 

‘‘You had better go, Eeggy, if she insists upon it,^^ 
whispered 8treator, swimming close to his friend ^s side. 
“ I will manage to keep close to Miss Lorraine, and render 
her assistance if she needs it.'^^ 

Eeginald struck out, and twenty strong strokes brought 
him to the side of a man struggling in the water which 
threatened to ingulf him. 

“ Save me, sir, if you can,^^ implored the other. “ I fear 
my leg is broken, and I can not swim a stroke. 

“ Put your arm around my neck,^^ answered Prentiss, 
“ and I can keep you up until we reach land."” 

' The young planter swam close to the injured man^s side. 


DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW ORLEANS. 


219 


A glance of mutual recognition followed. The other 
man was Gasparde Lorraine! 

The gambler recoiled and exclaimed : 

“ I would rather go down, sir, than be saved by you.^^ 

“ Nonsense,^' muttered Prentiss, angrily. 

He seized Lorraine by his coat collar, just as the latter 
seemed on the point of sinking, and commanded, sternly: 

“ Put your arm around my neck, Mr. Lorraine, and let 
me assist you to the shore.'’’ 

The gambler com23lied with sullen reluctance, and Eegi- 
nald, with swift, strong strokes, carried him to land. 

Streator and Lianne had already reached terra firma un- 
injured, and were not a little surprised at the sight of the 
new-comer whom Prentiss brought with him. 

Eeginald struggled ashore and carried his old-time ene- 
my in his arms to a soft, grassy spot on the bank. 

Lianne, as she beheld her brother’s condition, was 
greatly alarmed. 

“ Oh, Gasparde, you are hurt!” she cried, running to- 
ward him. “Let me attend you!” 

“Get out of my sight, you detestable thing!” roared 
Gasparde, in tones not to be mistaken. 

Lianne recoiled from this harsh rebuff, and Prentiss, 
flushing with righteous indignation, led her several yards 
away. 

Prentiss and Streator and their fair charge found a rest- 
ing-place a few yards distant from the unnatural brother 
and peered through the darkness to see how fared their 
fellow-passengers of the ill-fated boat. 

The cries for succor had died away, and it was evident 


220 DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW ORLEANS, 

that all who had escaped with their lives were being quiet- 
ly rescued. The splash of oars told them that the boat’s 
crews were landing their human freight at a point consid_ 
erably higher upon the island. 

A solitary man swam ashore near them and clambered 
up the bank until he reached Gasparde Lorraine’s side. 

The trio had no difficulty in recognizing the last comer 
as Captain Harvey Linscomb. 

The two scoundrels conferred in whispers for a few mo- 
ments, and then both drew revolvers. 

Prentiss and Streator realized their peril. They were 
unarmed, for the former had lost his weapon while strug- 
gling in the river, and the latter had left his in the state- 
room on the “ Girard.” 

‘‘ At last we can settle some old scores!” shouted Lins- 
comb, in a loud, menacing tone. “ Gentlemen, we regret 
the necessity, but we must now put you out of our path 
for all time to come!” 


DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW ORLEANS. 221 


CHAPTER XXIIL 

AID FROM AN UNEXPECTED SOURCE. 

“Bah!^^ responded Streator, contemptuously, “your 
pistols have been too thoroughly soaked in the water to be 
of any use to you now. 

“ Don’t be too sure of that, my friend,^^ sneered Lor- 
raine. “ Did you ever hear of water-proof caps? Well, 
we use them.^’ 

“ Have the goodness, gentlemen, to stand up, that we 
may have a fairer mark,^’ commanded Linscomb. 

“ Go away from us, Dianne darling,^^ implored Pren- 
tiss, in a whisper. “ Frank and 1 can not escape; they 
are too near to miss us; but I beseech you not to imperil 
your own life by remainiug near us.^^ 

“Come, why don^t you get up?^’ growled Linscomb. 
“If you remain seated, it may take two or three bullets 
apiece to settle you. Stand up, gentlemen, and we will 
take you sure on the first shot. Stand up, and give us a 
fair mark. It may save you both a good deal of pain."’"’ 

Dianne, with no intention of following her lover’s ad- 
vice, sprung up and stood in such a way as to partly shield 
both of the imperiled men. 

Linscomb, who had been on the point of firing, was visi- 
bly dismayed. He started back and lowered his weapon. 

“ Have no consideration for her if she consorts with 
such fellows,” Gasparde broke in, harshly. “ Better that 
she should perish with her sneaking lover.” 


222 DETECTIVE JOHNSOII OF KEW ORLEANS. 


Lorraine was unable to stand, but reclined on the grass 
and held his weapon out before him. 

Captain Harvey Linscomb was plainly loath to shoot, 
and his companion, seeing this, cried out impatiently: 

“ If you are too much of a coward to shoot, let me take 
the first step. 

Gasparde coolly sighted the weapon leveled straight at 
his sister^s breast. 

Dianne, unmoved and unterrified, resolutely maintained 
her position. She faced her brother undaunted, and gazed 
at him in cold defiance. 

But the two young men whom she so nobly defended 
had no intention of permitting such a sacrifice. They 
sprung from behind her on either side, and stood well ex- 
posed to the mark of their enemies. 

Dianne glided resolutely to the side of her lover just as 
the scoundrels were on the point of firing. 

At this juncture there was a most unlooked-for inter- 
ruption. 

“ Permit me. Captain Linscomb, to exchange shots with 
you, if you please came in cool, clear tones from one of 
a party of three men who had just come up. 

The latter, recognizing the state of affairs, had drawn 
their revolvers to protect the lady at all hazards. 

Linscomb turned upon the man who had so suddenly 
upset his villainous plans, and he was so astounded that 
the weapon nearly fell from his hand. 

‘‘ Peyton!’^ he gasped, as if unable to credit the evi- 
dence of his eyes. 

“ Yes, I am Peyton/^ responded the youth who had first 


DETECTIVE JOHKSON OF KEW ORLEANS. 


223 


spoken. “ You Iiave long tried to pick a quarrel with 
me, Linscomb, and now, when I find you engaged in the 
dastardly work of shooting down women, I am ready to 
accommodate you. Make ready, sir; it must be an im- 
promptu afiair.^^ 

But the astonished captain was unable to grasp the fact 
that, at last, Peyton held him in no fear, and seemed in- 
capable of stirring. 

“ Very well,^^ rejoined Peyton, after a pause, “ since 
you are plainly too cowardly to accept the opportunity you 
have so long invoked, I command you not to raise your 
weapon, on pain of being instantly shot through. 

Captain Harvey Linscomb, the gambler and duelist, 
with more than a dozen bloody encounters on his con- 
science, had met his match at last in a quarter where he 
had little expected defiance. 

Do not stir, sir,^^ commanded Peyton, walking up to 
the overwhelmed captain; “ and now — pausing before 
him — “ hand me your pistol, or I will shoot you like the 
contemptible cur that I have found you out to be.^^ 

The captain saw no alternative, and sullenly handed his 
weapon over to his boyish conqueror. 

Gasparde Lorraine, finding himself covered by the two 
other new-comers, was vanquished as easily. 

‘‘ Now, you sneak,^^ cried Peyton to Linscomb, “ turn 
your back upon us and travel lively 

The captain started, but he did not go rapidly enough 
to suit Peyton, who accordingly accelerated his speed with 
a prodigious kick, which hit the captain so squarely and so 


22i DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW ORLEANS. 

forcibly that he ran away at full speedy holding on to his 
injured anatomy as he went. 

“Now you folio him/^ continued Peyton, turning 
upon Lorraine. 

“ He can’t; he^s badly hurt/^ spoke up one of Peyton’s 
companions. 

“ Very well, then; I suppose he will have to stay here.” 

Eeginald came forward, holding out his hand to the prin- 
cipal of their deliverers. 

“ You will not doubt that, under the circumstances, 1 
am glad to see you.” 

“ 1 am most happy to have been in time to be of serv- 
ice,” returned Peyton, absently. 

He was still thinkiog of the exquisite kick with which 
he had repaid Linscomb’s gratuitous insults of so many 
occasions before. “ Peyton, I am delighted to meet you 
again; doubly so at this time.” This from Streator, who 
had just come forward and who recognized in Peyton an 
old school friend. 

Then followed the introduction of the new-comers to 
Miss Lorraine. 

“ How did you happen to come here just at the right 
time?” Streator inquired. 

“ Well, we escaped from that accursed boat,” Peyton 
made answer, “ and, having nothing else to do, concluded 
to keep warm by walking about.” 

“ Are there many others on the island with us?” asked 
Dianne. 

“Yes, Miss Lorraine. Scattered about are supposed to 


DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW ORLEANS. 225 


be all of the passengers and crew, with the exception of 
some twenty who are missing. 

“ Horrible, awful murmured the girl. 

‘ ‘ But those who are missing may have got to the other 
side of the river. Miss Lorraine/^ Peyton answered, con- 
siderately. 

But Dianne was not so easily deceived. She realized 
that such a catastrophe could not occur without a sicken- 
ing loss of life. Had Peyton told all he knew of the dis- 
aster, he would have added that, besides the score or more 
supposed to have been killed, at least forty had been 
brought ashore who were more or less seriously injured, 
many fatally. 

‘‘ My brother was hurt, you see; there must have been 
many others injured also.^^ 

As Dianne spoke she indicated Gasparde with a nod of 
her head. 

Peyton understood, and was astonished at the relation- 
ship. With all his presence of mind and good breeding it 
was all he could do to repress an exclamation of incredulity 
and amazement. 

“If he is your brother, he rejoined, hurriedly, “ we 
must give him all the attention in our power. 

“ I fear he will not permit it,^^ responded Dianne, her 
voice a little broken; for with all the injury she had 
sufiPered at his hands she now felt a great deal of sisterly 
compassion for the suffering wretch. 

“ Won’t permit attendance, eh?^^ queried Peyton, who 

had suddenly developed into a very decisive young man. 

“ Then he must be made to — that^s all.^^ 

8 


226 DETECTIVE JOHNSOK OF KEW ORLEAKS. 

The young man walked deliberately over to Lorraine, 
and, despite the other^s remonstrances, proceeded to ex- 
amine the injured leg. 

“ A mere fracture, though a very painful one, I dare 
say,^^ pronounced Peyton, who was, by the way, a medical 
student. 

Finding that his remonstrance against company availed 
him nothing, Lorraine remained sullenly silent, while the 
others gathered around him. 

Peyton borrowed enough handkerchiefs to make a very 
respectable bandage, and proceeded to attend to Lorraine 
in a way which he said would answer until other and bet- 
ter treatment could be procured. 

Prentiss and Streator both divested themselves of their 
overcoats in which to wrap the injured man, and Dianne 
would have added her cloak had not Eeginald interposed. 

“ Your brother will do well enough now, and you must 
not be permitted to sacrifice your own health,^^ he said, 
with a gentle decision. 

The gambler could not have been insensible to all the 
kindnesses showered upon him by the very people he had 
endeavored to kill. Perhaps the fact that he no longer 
growled and grumbled at them may be taken as evidence 
of this. 

If we could only have a fire,^^ Peyton began. 

Happy thought exclaimed Streator. 

“ Well, what is it?^^ 

“ I have some matches in my pocket. 

“ But they are wet; they will be of no use,^^ objected 
Peyton. 


DETECTIVE JOHNSON* OF NEW OKLEANS. 227 

“ Aro you sure of that? Just gather a good big pile of 
vvooch the rest of you_, and I’ll show you that it is still pos* 
sible to make use of these matches of mine.” 

The fagots and sticks were soon gathered from the un- 
dergrowth of the forest, and Frank meanwhile rubbed the 
matches vigorously through his soft, silky hair. 

By this simple process he managed to get the matches 
dry enough to ignite, and soon had a glorious fire blazing 
and crackling. 

‘^That’s a great success, is it not?” Peyton declared. 
“ I, too, have plenty of matches about me. We must be 
of! to start other fires, for there must be many sick peo- 
ple on this island to-night who are suffering from the 
cold. But, first of all, please arm yourself with these pis- 
tols, of which I had the pleasure of relieving our friends a 
little while ago.” 

With this Peyton and his friends were off on their mer- 
ciful errand of supplying fires for the wounded of the ter- 
rible catastrophe. 

It was evident to those who remained behind that Gas- 
parde Lorraine’s condition was anything but improving. 
His face flushed feverishly, and his frequent groans be- 
trayed the anguish that was racking his bones. 

“ Do you think he will die?” whispered Dianne, turn- 
ing a white, compassionate face to Keginald. 

“ There is little danger of it, I think,” the young man 
returned. “ He will naturally suffer, of course, but we 
can doubtless get him to the mainland in the morning, 
where he will receive the best of attention and rapidly re- 

9 ) 


cover. 


228 DETECTIVE JOHNSOTq’ OF KEW OKLEANS. 

But Lorraine passed from bad to worse. Soon he be- 
came delirious, and in the ravings that followed he uncon- 
sciously told his startled hearers the story of his dastardly 
attempt on Dianne^s happiness. 

As for the girl, she sat beside her brother, and the tears 
which trickled down her cheeks showed how acute was her 
misery. 

Keginald tried to ind uce her to leave the sick man^s side 
for awhile. She gently but firmly resisted, and remained. 

Slowly the night hours passed away. Like some two 
hundred on the same island that ill-fated night, the quartet 
waited in anxiety and suffering for daylight to appear. 

It was during that hour before dawn, which is, of a 
verity, the darkest of the night, that Gasparde Lorraine 
had a lucid respite. 

He turned his pale, wan features from one to the other 
as he studied their faces as best he could by the light of 
the fire. 

‘‘ What is it, Gasparde dear?^^ questioned Dianne, 
bending over him. 

This simple word of affection completed the undoing of 
the sick man. 

‘‘ I think 1 am going to die,^^ he whispered, as a furtive 
tear stole down his cheek. 

Dianne^s heart sunk within her, for her old love re- 
turned for Gasparde in his weakness and utter helplessness. 
She felt that his suspicion was correct, yet she answered: 

“No, no, dear; you are only a trifle feverish. It will 
pass away when morning comes. 


DETECTIVE / JOHETSOlSr OF NEW ORLEANS. 


229 


She tried to speak bravely, but her voice trembled in 
spite of herself. 

* “I wish to ask forgiveness of you, and of your friends, 
for I fear that 1 need forgiveness,^^ Gasparde continued, 
huskily. 

“You have my full forgiveness, dear Gasparde, and 1 
am sure I speak also for my friends. 

“We will speak for ourselves,^^ interjected Eeginald, 
coming forward. “ Gasparde Lorraine, there is nothing 
of enmity between us. Everything is forgiven and for- 
gotten.^^ 

Frank Streator echoed this sentiment, and Lorraine 
seemed vastly relieved. 

“Well, Gasparde, I never believed you to be chicken- 
hearted. I am utterly disgusted with you.^^ 

The watchers at the sick man^s side turned and beheld 
Captain Harvey Linscomb. 


230 


DETECTIVE JOHIfSOK OF NEW OELEANS. 


CHAPTER XXIV. 

REGINALD FINDS HAPPINESS. 

Gasparde turned suddenly and eyed his erstwhile con- 
federate. 

“ 1 have no reproaches for you, Linscomb,^^ he said, 
feebly. 1 was just as bad as you, and planned and 
schemed with you in everything, but all is known now, 
and I am not exposing your confidence in any way. 

The dawn was coming now, and in the gray light of the 
early morning Linscomb^s usually passive face showed lines 
and movements that would have intensely interested a 
physiognomist. 

Not one sign of weakening or relenting was there, how- 
ever. It was evident that the captain was astounded, and, 
as he said, disgusted at the new determination of his old 
crony. 

“ I have not long to live,^^ Gasparde went on, in tones 
that steadily increased in strength, “ and I would like to at 
least die an honest man. One whose life has been hard 
and self-indulgent to an extreme is not likely to appre- 
ciate the full force of my feelings until he finds himself at 
death^s door. 

Gasparde paused. His utterance was becoming more 
thick and husky. His lips were so parched that Reginald, 
seeing what the trouble was, ran down to the bank and re- 
turned with his hat full of water. 


DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW ORLEANS. 


231 


ITe pressed it to Gasparde’s lips, and the sufierer drank 
a long, full draught with evident relish. Then his hot, 
feverish hand sought Keginald^s and gave it a pressure 
which was heartily returned. 

“ Do you feel any better. Prentiss asked, anxiously. 

A little, but the relief is only momentary, was the 
reply. ‘‘ 1 feel as if 1 were burning up inside. 

“ Getting ready for the tortures to come in the next 
world, sneered Linscomb, heartlessljL 

Keginald and Streator both turned savagely upon the 
wretch. 

The latter, impulsive boy that he was, drew his revolver 
and said, menacingly: 

“ Another word like that, Captain Linscomb, and you 
will be the first to investigate the mysteries of that un- 
known world. 

There was such a depth of meaning and determination 
in the boy^s tones that Linscomb recoiled suddenly and 
cowered. 

“ Come, Frank, put the pistol up,^^ said Prentiss, au- 
thoritativel3^ “ DonT you see how it excites our friend 
Gasparde?^^ 

Frank readily complied, and Linscomb as rapidly re- 
gained something of his old self-possession. 

“ Harve}% can’t you accept my advice and try to lead a 
better life?” pleaded Lorraine. 

“ Bah!” was the contemptuous response. “ You are a 
good deal more of a coward than I believed you to be. 
You have lost all the nerve you were once noted lur. ” 


232 DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW ORLEANS. 

There was a grand touch of latent pride in Gasparde’s 
voice as he replied: 

“No, I have not lost my courage. 1 am ready to face 
the end as bravely as any one could do ifc, but I want to 
go in peace. 

Liuscomb^s only response was a contemptuous snort. 

“ I think you had better leave us, sir,^^ said Reginald, 
addressing himself decisively to the captain. “ Your pres- 
ence here is likely to work more harm than good.^^ 

“ 1 can readily believe that my presence here is not wel- 
come, answered Linscomb, jeeringly, “ so with apologies 
to the lady, 1 will withdraw, and leave the rest of you 
alone to the pleasant contemplation of this — craven — who 
was once considered a man of courage and honor. 

The sufferer made no protest, but it was plain that the 
ordeal was telling upon his strength. 

The captain made a mockingly elaborate bow, and dis- 
appeared among the trees. 

Dianne sat down by her brother, and pillowed his head 
in her lap. 

“ Courage, dear,^^ she whispered. “ It is morning now, 
and we shall soon be able to get you to a place where you 
will have both comfort and attendance. 1 don’t believe 
you are really half as ill as you think. Do you feel much 
pain?” 

“ Only in my leg,” answered Gasparde, resolutely sup- 
pressing a groan; “ but 1 feel as if I were burning up with 
a fever.” 

“ It will give way to skillful treatment when we once 
get you on shore,” said Dianne, reassuringly. 


DETECTIVE JOHlSTSOiq’ OF KEW OELEANS, . 233 

Eeginald here decided upon a course of action. 

“ I am going to the shore side of the island/^ he said, 
“ to see if I can find where the steamer^s boats are. 
Frank will remain here. Miss Lorraine, to see that you are 
not aunoyed.^^ 

“ 1 can be relied upon to perform that duty to the best 
of my ability,’"^ affirmed Streator. 

Prentiss did as he proposed. He soon came across one 
of the “ Girard^s boats, but instantly perceived that 
there were a great many injured people who needed trans- 
portation. 

While standing on the bank and gazing at the shore in. 
a quandary he espied a flat-boat manned by negroes put- 
ting off. 

Putting his_ hands to his mouth, and shouting with all 
the power of his lungs, he succeeded in attracting the at- 
tention of the occupants. 

They headed for him and pulled lustily. 

As the boat came nearer Reginald saw that a white mm 
was steering the craft, and judged him to be the overseer 
of a plantation near by. 

“ Did yo^ want us?^^ called the steersman, as soon as 
the boat had got within hail. 

“Yes; a friend of mine is very severely injured, and I 
must get him to the mainland at once, where he can have 
attention. 

“I reckon we kin help yo%^^ responded the overseer^ 
steering for the bank. 

The boat was made fast, and half a dozen slaves sprung; 
ashore. 


234 DETECTIVE JOHN^SOH OE l^EW OKLEANS. 

“ Let the boys carry yo^ friend to th^ bo^t/^ advised the 
overseer. 

Eeginald led the way to the spot where Gasparde was 
lying. 

“ Courage/^ he whispered, bending over him; ‘‘ we are 
going to take you ashore now, where you will have all the 
comforts that can be procured. 

The slaves lifted the sufferer as tenderly as they could, 
and bore him with infinite pains to the boat. 

It was a rough journey at best for a man in Gasparde’s 
condition, and there were several times when he could not 
suppress the groans which rose to his lips. 

At last they got him into the boat and made him as 
comfortable as they could during the passage to the main- 
land. 

When the shore was reached, the overseer dispatched 
two of his “ boys for a stretcher. 

This they soon returned with, and Gasparde had a tol- 
erably comfortable journey to the plantation mansion, 
which was less than a quarter of a mile distant from the 
shore. 

The planter turned out to be an enterprising Yankee 
named Briggs, who had so far outgrown the abolitionist 
sentiment of his native place as to come South and run a 
sugar plantation in a most prosperous way. 

‘‘ 1 am right glad to see you,^^ Lriggs declared, when 
the party reached the house. “ One of the boys came in 
with a yarn about the steamer ‘ Girard ^ ' bursting her 
bhlers last night, and 1 sent Carlton and some of the boys 


DETECTIVE J0HKS0J5I OF NEW ORLEANS. 


235 


out to see if there was any truth in it. So the b^'iler did 
bust after all?^^ 

Their host was a most cordial one, and saw that the sick 
man was comfortably quartered. 

An elderly colored woman came up soon after with a 
bowl of gruel, and announced: 

‘‘ Dis is gruT fo^ de sick man, an^ massh’ done tole me 
to say dat de rest ob ye was to come down to brekf us di- 
reckly.^^ 

But who is to look after Mr. Lorraine?^^ queried 
Dianne, anxiously. 

“ 1 reckon I is, missy; I’se been a nuss dese foTy yeahs, 
an^ I reckon I kin take good care ob de young mass’r. 
Dey’s done sent fo’ de doctor, an^ 1 reckon he^ll be heah 
soon, too.^^ 

Prentiss and Streator and Miss Lorraine, seeing the sick 
man so well provided for, were nothing loath to descend 
to breakfast, where they • found their host and hostess 
awaiting them. 

“Much of an accident last night queried Briggs, 
after the meal was fairly under way. 

“ A terrible number of fatalities and casualties, I fear,^’ 
answered Reginald; and then proceeded to give an account 
of how the catastrophe occurred. 

“ Mighty curious how your party, being all together, 
managed to escape, all but one,^^ observed Briggs. 

Reginald did not care to enlighten his host on this par- 
ticular point, and so turned the conversation into other 
channels. 

“ Pve sent Carlton and the ‘ boys back,""^ Bnggs an- 


236 DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW ORLEANS^ ^ ' ■ 

nouiiced at last. ‘‘ Told them to bring all the hurt people 
here they could, aud Vyq sent for the nearest doctor, and 
expect him here every minute 

The medical man soon came and was shown into Gas- 
parde^s room. 

The trio of friends stood outside of the door and anx- 
iously awaited the result of the examination. 

When the doctor came out again, half an hour later, 
they looked anxiously at him. 

The physician^s face wore a smile, however, and he said, 
cheerily : % 

‘‘ It^s nothing but a fracture of the right leg, and not a 
bad one at that. He will be able to be moved in a week, 
and in a month he^ll be nearly as good a man as ever.^^ 

“ But the fever?^’ interrupted Dianne, anxiously. 

“Nothing at all, my dear young lady, nothing at all; 
simply incidental to the pain and exposure he has suffered. 
With the medicines I have given him he will be out of his 
fever in the morning/’ 

“ Then there isn’t the least danger of his dying?” 
Dianne almost shouted this appealing query. 

The doctor laughed. 

“Dying? I should say not; that is, my dear young 
lady, not unless you insist on coddling him to death. 
You—” 

But Dianne had waited to hear no more. She flew into 
the sick-room to share the good news with Gasparde. 

“ Who is he? — lier lover?” asked the doctor, bluntly, 
for the door was closed between them. 


DETECTIVE JOHETSOlSr OF NEW ORLEANS. 


237 


“ No; her brother/^ Eegiiiald replied, quietly; but his 
own face told the shrewd physician how the land lay. 

It was decided, upon the urgent invitation of Planter 
Briggs, that the whole party should remain just where 
they were until Gasparde was in condition to be removed. 

Their host assured them that the colored nurse was fully 
competent to perform her duties, and strongly recom- 
mended that his guests retire and get a few hours’ rest. 

At luncheon, which was served a little later than usual, 
the trio made their appearance much refreshed. 

After this light meal was out of the way, Eeginald and 
Frank sauntered forth from the house for a short stroll 
over their cigars. 

It so happened that Streator discovered he had left his 
cigar-case in his room, and as Eeginald had only one cigar 
Frank turned back, promising to join him in a few min- 
utes. 

Eeginald strolled down a well-beaten path which led 
through a grove at the rear of the mansion, and in so 
doing encountered Dianne, who was evidently out for a 
walk herself. 

“ I trust bur paths lie in the same direction. 

“We can easily make it so,^^ she responded, gayly. “ I 
am out, like yourself, for the air, and the direction is a 
matter of trivial importance. 

They walked along, side by side, and both were ill at 
ease, for both were thinking very intently of the same 
thing, and neither dared speak. 

♦ 3 > ^ ^ 

How it came about neither exactly knew; but it seemed 


238 DETECTIVE JOHXSOJh OF XEW OELEA^sS. 

eminently appropriate that Eeginald should again declare 
the love that was consuming him — and Dianne, how could 
she resist? 

They were walking back to the house, arm in arm, when 
he asked her, perhaps for the twentieth time, that stereo- 
typed question on such occasions: 

“ Are you perfectly sure, darling, that you know your 
mind?^^ 

‘‘ 1 believe you,^^ she replied, with tender seriousness; 
why should you not believe me?^^ 

‘‘ 1 will,^^ he answered, vehemently. “ And shall I ask 
Gasparde^s consent at last?^^ 

“ When he is better, dear; and I am sure you need not 
fear his answer. 1 am going to send a telegram this after- 
noon, if 1 am not imposing too much upon our good host 
and hostess, for Elsie to join us here,^^ she added. 

And Frank Streator, who came up just in time to hear 
this declaration, looked extremely contented. 


DETECTITE JOHXSO]^ OF NEW ORLEANS. 


239 


CHAPTER XXV. 

A PAIR OF MATRIMONIAL SURPRISES. 

Everybody felt happier after the doctor had made his 
visit and his report in the morning. 

“ The patient is in no danger/^ he said, “ so long as he 
is not moved at present, and kept as still and as cheerful 
as possible. The fever, as I predicted, has wholly disap- 
peared, and will not return unless through some causes 
which can not be foreseen now. 

Gasparde seemed much improved in condition, and no 
longer felt that he was immediately to be one of death^s 
shining marks. He did not regret the reconcilation, how- 
ever, and seemed delighted to have Reginald sit by his 
bedside and read aloud or chat with him. 

Dianne had carried out her intention of sending for 
Elsie, and bad telegraphed on the afternoon before. ' 

“ Do you expect Miss Prentiss this afternoon Streator 
inquired of her the first time he met her alone. 

‘‘ There is a boat which leaves New Orleans at eleven,^^ 
Dianne replied, “ and if she takes that she will be here in 
the afternoon in good season for dinner. 

Frank said nothing, but it was noticeable that he was 
restless and uneasy through the remainder of the day. 
He eschewed the house as much as he could, and roamed a 
great deal through the groves that surrounded the house, 
smoking an incredible number of cigars, and chewing the 


240 DETECTIVE JOHNSOK OF KEW OKLEAKS. 


ends ill a distracted way that did not speak well for his 
peace of mind. 

He asked his host as. frequently as he met him what 
time the boat got in, whether it was late or ahead of time, 
and, in short, caused Jonathan Briggs to ‘‘do a heap of 
thinking. 

The boat was expected at four o^clock, or shortly after. 

It was three when Prank had his latest interview with 
Mr. Briggs on the subject. 

“ 1 shall send the family carriage down to the landing, 
of course, announced that gentleman. “ Do you wish to 
go in it, Mr. Streator?’^ 

“ I was going to ask you a favor, sir. I — I — er — er — 

Frank came to a full stop, and the tell-tale color 
mounted to his cheeks. 

“ Well, what is the favor you speak of?^^ queried his 
host, blandly, though there was a mischievous twinkle in 
his eye. 

“ It isn^t a favor — that is, not exactly that,’^ Frank 
went on, desperately. 

“ What do you want, then?’^ 

“ I — 1 — Miss Prentiss is very fond of walking, at least I 
think she is. 1 think she would much prefer to have you 
send a wagon for her luggage and let her walk here. I 
shall go down to the boat, of course, and escort her to the 
house. 

“ Miss Prentiss’s desires shall be carried out to the very 
letter,” responded Briggs, with a kindly irony that aUo- 
gether escaped the young man’s notice in his much per- 
turbed condition. 


DETECTIVE JOHISTSON' OF NEW ORLEANS. • 241 


Frank Streator was, in fact, impervious to everything 
except that he must meet Elsie at the boat — alone — and 
have a more or less prolonged conversation with her. 

He reached the landing at 3:30. The boat did not get 
in until an hour later. Frank, meanwhile, had been con- 
sumed by the most lively anxiety and impatience. 

At last the steamer came into sight around the bend of 
the river. Never in the course of his life had Streator 
known a steamer to travel so slowly as this craft did as she 
veered from her course and swept toward theTanding. 

At last the boat was alongside, the lines were made fast 
fore and aft, and the gang-plank was run ashore. 

There was but one passenger for Briggses Landing — 
Elsie Prentiss — and at sight of her Frank^s fears were 
lulled, while his heart beat with trebled intensity. 

Miss Prentiss came ashore and gave the young man her 
hand in a pretty, confiding way. 

“lam glad you have come,^^ he said, with an earnest- 
ness that startled even himself. 

Then he paused confusedly, for the bravest of men are 
the veriest cowards under some circumstances. 

Elsie^s womanly intuition must have given her warning 
of something unusual. 

“ Hadn^t we better start at once for the house?^^ she 
asked hurriedly and a little nervously. 

“Why — er^ — yes; how forgetful 1 am!^^ stammered the 
poor boy, realizing his surroundings for the first time, and 
noticing that the passengers on the steamer^s deck were 
gazing at them curiously, if not amusedly. 


242 DETECTIVE JOHNSOK OF KEW ORLEAKS. 

“Tell me/’ said Elsie, “all that has taken place. 
Dianne^s telegram explained so little.’^ 

Frank went hurriedly over the details, naturally dwell- 
ing upon them as little as possible. 

“ Where is the carriage?’^ asked Elsie, when he had fin- 
ished. 

“ There is a wagon coming for your baggage — th^re it 
is now; but I thought you would prefer to walk,^^ he stam- 
mered, blushing like a school-boy. 

Elsie looked at him fixedly, and that glance revealed a 
deal to her. Her eyes sought the ground. 

“ Very well, then, let us walk,^^ she said, simply. 

“ Please take my arm,^^ Frank went on. “ Please!^^ 

“ Is it so necessary to your happiness that I should take 
your arm?’^ she asked, with a faint smile and with a 
nervous assumption of gayety. Then her words repeated 
themselves in her mind, and she colored more furiously 
than ever. 

Timid people, in sheer desperation, often make a bolder 
stroke than more courageous people would be capable of, 
and it was so with Frank Streator at this moment. 

The blood surged into his face, and he fiushed clear to his 
temples as he felt the touch of the girPs hand upon his 
arm, and turned to gaze into her face. 

“ Elsie,^^ he whispered, passionately, “ more than that 
is necessary — your hand and your heart.’' 

The girl drew back suddenly, and as Frank looked 
again, he saw that every vestige of color had left her 
face. 

“ 1 mean it," he said, in low tones, as he clasped her 


DETECTIVE JOHNSOET OF NEW OKLEANS. 243 


little hand firmly yet so gently in both his. “ What is your 
answer, Elsie 

Her eyes sought the ground, and her head was bent so 

f 

low that he was obliged to stoop a little to catch her reply 
when it came. 

Whatever it was, it seemed to transport him with de- 
light. 

He raised her unresisting hand and pressed his lips to 
it with infinite tenderness and fervor. 

In the paroxysm of his new-born happiness he rever- 
enced this beautiful girl so much that he did not dare as- 
pire to her lips. 

“ Let us go on at once,^^ she said, at length; “ they 
will think it strange if we do not soon arrive. 

With her hand resting confidingly within his arm they 

strolled on to the house. 

«£« 

Reginald had not by any means escaped the species of 
anxiety that had harassed his friend on that eventful day. 

Dianne loved him — had she not told him so over and 
over again? — yet there was one drawback which, slight as 
it was, constantly recurred to him. 

He had not yet asked Gasparde’s consent to their mar- 
riage. 

That this would be readily given Reginald had now no 
doubt, but it was the enforced waiting which troubled 
him. 

A 

Delay is the most subtle torture known to lovers, and 
suspense is their greatest enemy. 

Just as the physician was leaving in the morning, Pren- 


244 DETECTIVE JOHKSOK OF NEW ORLEANS. 

tiss had taken that gentleman one side and had briefly ex- 
plained his position with regard to Dianne. 

“ Can I approach Mr. Lorraine to-day with a request 
for his consent?^^ he had asked. 

“ Our patient is in no danger; but 1 think you had bet- 
ter wait a day or two. Any excitement may retard his re- 
covery/^ had been the doctor^s reply. 

And so Eeginald m ust needs content himself as best he 
could. He spent all the time he could in Dianne^s com- 
pany, but that was mainly in the sick-room, for Dianne 
felt that she owed more devotion, for the time being, to a 
sick brother than to a well lover. 

On Gasparde^s face there was a puzzled, worried expres- 
sion during the afternoon, as if he were thinking very in- 
tently upon some absorbing subject. 

Dianne, come here, please; 1 wish to speak with 
you,^^ he said, at last. 

Dianne went quickly to the bedside, and Reginald turned 
as if to leave the room. 

“ Don^t go, Prentiss,^^ advised the sick man. 

Eeginald therefore walked to the most distant window 
in the room and tried to occupy his thoughts with the 
dreary landscape spread out before him. 

It was while looking out in this manner that he espied 
Elsie and Frank Streator coming toward the house. 

They were walking along very slowly and seemed very 
much absorbed in each other, so much so in fact that it 
did not escape the eye of Eeginald. 

‘‘ They are preparing to follow in our footsteps, he 
thought, watching them with an amused smile. 


DETECTIVE JOHNSON OF NEW ORLEANS. 245 

# 

Gasparde and Dianne had meanwhile been conversing in 
low tones, and Reginald now heard his name pronounced 
by the former. 

“ Did you call me?^^ he asked. 

“ Yes; come here, Prentiss. 1 have something impor- 
tant to say to you.^^ 

Reginald went over to the bedside of his old-time enemy, 
with a very lively presentiment of what was coming. 

“ I have been thinking all through the day of the rela- 
tions between yourself and my sister,’^ Gasparde said, cor- 
dially. “ I have just asked Dianne about it, and she says 
you have done her the honor to ask for her hand. 

Reginald bowed affirmatively. 

She tells me that you intended to ask my consent as 
soon as I am more fully recovered, Gasparde went on. 

Again Reginald bowed. 

‘‘ Then, my dear fellow, the quicker she is Mrs. Prentiss 
the happier I shall be. Here is my hand, Prentiss. You 
have been a noble foe. Henceforth I know that you will 
prove as noble a friend and brother, and I shall try to be 
worthy of it. 1 am glad Dianne loves you, for 1 know 
you will make her a happy wife.^’ 

Gasparde extended his hand, and Reginald pressed it 
firmly and heartily within his own. 

At this moment the sound of merry voices was heard in 
the corridor outside, and then came a tap at the door. 

Come in,^^ said Dianne. 

The door was pushed open, and Frank Streator, fiushed 
and triumphant, followed by Elsie, crimson and abashed. 


came in. 


246 


DETECTIVE JOHlISOlSr OF NEW ORLEANS. 


To Eeginald there was no time like the present. He 
was happy, and his friends must know it. 

“ Congratulate me/^ he said, tucking Dianne^s hand 
under bis arm, and leading her up to the new-comers. 
‘‘You behold before you the future Mr. and Mrs. Pren- 
tiss, and 1 am the happiest fellow alive 1^^ 

“Except one,^^ returned Frank Streator, so decisively 
that Elsie turned a deeper crimson than ever. 

“ What?^’ exclaimed Reginald, as if a little taken back 
by surprise. 

“ I mean just what I say,^^ Streator resumed. “ Elsie 
and I have talked it all over during the last quarter of an 
hour. We want your consent, but 1 know 1 have that be- 
forehand, and so it all is fixed. 

When the happy boy had finished this voluble account, 
he walked directly to the bed where Gasparde lay looking 
at the two happy couples, and held out his hand. 

“ Lorraine, this peculiar marriage combination makes 
us all related to one another. Are you not glad of the 
new relatives you are about to acquire? I am.^’ 

Gasparde took the extended hand, and the pressure 
which he gave in return spoke more eloquently than words 
could have done. 

Pompey, the colored boy, who had aided Dianne to es- 
cape from durance vile on an occasion well remembered, 
was not forgotten nor neglected. 

Eeginald himself successfully undertook the purchase of 
the little fellow from his much-feared master, and the boy 
eventually found himself in the regions of the North be- 
yond “ Ole Kaintuck.^^ 


DETECTIVE JOHNSON OE NE\V ORLEANS. 247 

The money which Frank Streator had won from Lor- 
raine and his companion — the last he ever won at a card- 
table — was drawn from the bank, and was the nucleus of 
the prosperity which Pompey afterward achieved. 

In the spring there was a grand double wedding in the 
stately old Prentiss mansion, and the reader does not need 
to be told the names of the high contracting parties. 

There are grandchildren now in the Prentiss and Strea- 
tor families. 

Gasparde Lorraine has never married. He declares that, 
with so many relatives as he now has, his marriage might 
only have embarrassed the two families, who, he thinks, are 
too numerous to admit of any more additions. » 


THE END. 



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